Yesterdays and Tomorrows
by JME2
Summary: A Justice League - Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; Batman and Diana are thrown through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia’s adventures begin. What effect will the Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch'smagic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story is set during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the SolitaryIsland_". Enjoy!

Prologue

_"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."_

_-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-_

Stonehenge.

Of all of the mysteries and unknowns that the third planet in the Sol system contained and was home to, none was more debated or studied than a strange circular pattern of stones and ruins located in England and known throughout both that region and the world as Stonehenge.

Historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, architects, and countless others argued over the origin and purpose of the ruins. Were they ancient signal beacons, a temple of some sort for groups like the Druids, or something else? The debate would continually go on for years until concrete proof was found, their purpose finally revealed.

Unknown to the world, the stones did indeed have a purpose, as the Justice League was finding out to its cost.

The ground around the ruins was marked by the bodies of the Flash and Superman. Flash had simply been too slow to avoid a blast and Superman was, for all of his marvelous abilities, practically useless against magic and had taken the full brunt ofa magical paralysis. From atop a stone on the outer ring, the Batman grimaced as he raised his dark swirling cape as if to shield himself from the barrage he and his allies were being subjected to. If John Stewart were here, they could retaliate with Oan energy, but alas until Kyle Rayner arrived with a replacement, the Green Lantern was out of commission. And if Shayera Hol were here, her Thanagarian mace could easily counteract the magical energy, but she was of course long gone. Either way, his currentposition was not secure and he would be moving in the next few moments, but first needed to contact his associate.

"Jason, where the hell are you?!"

There was of course no response; the occultist Jason Blood did not carry a Justice League communicator and without one, determining his position was impossible, especially with the continual bolts of energy that was being hurled at the remaining Leaguers from the center of Stonehenge. He had insisted that his fight with the foe the League was now faced with his and his alone.

J'onn J'onzz would argue differently.

With Diana of Themyscira, AKA Wonder Woman covering his green back, the last Martian was assuming various shapes, battling with a ferocity to reach past theenergy barries and demonic creatures protecting their foe, the witch Morgaine Le Fay. The same Morgaine Le Fay from Arthurian myth, she had survived the centuries following Camelot's fall and had sought out the Philosopher's Stone, which would have granted her the ability to restore Camelot with her son Mordred, upon the throne.

Thankfully, those plans had not come to pass. The witch's sole opponent, Jason Blood, the human bonded to the Demon Etrigan, had hunted her throughout thecenturies and had worked with the Justice League two years prior to prevent her from finally utilizing the stone for her wicked plans. Since that time, the pair had gone underground and with the League's other concerns, from the Secret Society and the Justice Lords to the recently-aborted Thanagarian occupation, the witch and her son had escape their attention.

Then, three days ago, Jason Blood had paid Bruce Wayne a visit at Wayne Manor. Until the Batman could divert sufficient funds to begin construction on a new installation and transportation, the League was operating out of Gothyam City, or rather the Batcave.J'onn and Diana were also holed up in the Manor, since both of them had no where else to stay until a new Watchtower had been built.

J'onn was not a problem; he spent most of the day meditating, emereging only to pillage Alfred Pennyworth's pantry. Ironically, the only thing that went missing were the Oreoes that Tim Drake kept stashed. Ever the Detective, Batman had observed that J'onn's love of the snack had originated shortly after the previous Christmas, which he had spent with Clark. This was one of the few ocassions where Gotham's protector did not want to know how something like that had gotten started, no matter how much Tim was begging him to solve or stop it.

But Diana...

Working with Diana on a daily basis was one thing. Living with her was quite another. More than once, Diana had added to the damage done to the Manor thanks to Hro Talak's assault team, by smashing the walls of her guest room in frustration and anger. Clearly, she had not forgotten or forgiven Shayera Hol's betrayal of the League. Alfred had tried to talk with her, but after she had dented one of his silver platters, the butler to the Bat had wisely stayed clear of the former Amazonian princess.

She was also still furious with him over his near-suicide run involving the Watchtower's orbital re-entry. He didn't expect her to understand, despite her own losses and Amazonian upbringing, the promises he had made and the sacrifices he was willing to make to make sure that the world survived and Gotham City alongside of it. He had given up any semblance of a 'normal' life to serve it and he would do anything for it, including sacrificing his life. That and that Dick and Tim had both been bugging him about finally getting a woman in the Manor and not doing anything un-Bat-like with her.

Still, Batman had allowed both of them access to his 'other' home out of his respect for them as he had spent more and more time in the caves beneath the Manor, rebuilding the damage done to his sanctum by the Thanagarians when Jason Blood had arrived on the Manor's porch. Blood had spent the last two years trying to track down the witch. It had not been easy and not simply because of the amulet she used as a warning beacon to the Demon's presence. With the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone, her primary objective was inruins and what her agenda had morphed into was known only to her and her son -- at least until Blood, in his form as Etrigan the Demon, had had a little 'chat' with several magical and demonic agents that she had had connections to.

And people thought the Batman was scary.

Her target this time, he had told them, was Stonehenge. The ruins, Blood had explained, had long been a nexus of raw magical energy that had been utilized by the Druids and other cults, but the full potential of the energy was inaccessible to all but the most complex of spells and rituals. Even Le Fay, as powerful and as intelligent as she was, had not been able to unlock its power. However, in the two years since their last battle, Le Fay had gained access to the appropriate spells and methods to unlock that nexus. With the power of the ruins being channeled through her, she could complete her previous objective and bring the world to its feet. Unfortunately for Le Fay, she had counted on the League being distracted by the aftermath of the Thanagarian invasion to deal with her or to notice.

Now she was paying the price as her final minions and barrier fell before the wrath of J'onn J'onzz. Le Fay stared at the Leaguer, her gaze hidden behind the expressionless golden mask that adorned her being.

"You are a fool, Martian. But it is not too late. You could have your family and world become whole once again. Let me utilize the power situated in these ruins and Mars can return to the Golden Age it once had."

The Martian glared at the witch with a fury that was easily a contrast to J'onn's calm, unemotional personality, clearly un-moved by her offer.

"Your tricks won't work again. Your price is as before too high. This world is now myhome, these people my family, and as long as I draw breath, I will defend it from the likes of people like you."

Behind him, Diana grinned and the Batman involuntarily gave a sigh of relief. Neither of them had expected J'onn to fall for that again, especially considering the long bout of depression and guilt that had haunted their comrade following his own betrayal of the League and how he had vowed to see Le Fay stopped. The witch simply starred at the Martian and raised her hand, preparing to engulf J'onn with the taste of her own fury over his betrayal of her for the destruction of the prize she had sought. Before the energies could discharge, however, her own hand was swept aside as she was hit with a blast of magic.

A blast of magic that originated from a fourth figure entering the ruins of Stonehenge, hideous hulking mass of yellow flesh, glowing eyes, and teeth that could, in any age, be summed up as being essentially demonic in appearance.

Etrigan the Demon had arrived.

"It's over witch. Surrender and I might show you mercy."

Le Fay threw back her head and laughed.

"One day in the future, perhaps, but not today, beloved."

Batman grimaced slightly. Every time he heard that word, he thought of Talia Head and her father, the immortal and deadly Ra's al Ghul. The Demon simply sneered at the woman that had used him, as Jason Blood, to take down Camelot and King Arthur.

"So be it." Both demon and sorceress began chanting, drawing upon the mystical energies granted to the two of them through birth and by learned abilities. Without hesitation, both unleashed their energies upon each other. Even in her weakened state, Le Fay still had awesome powers at her disposal and it was clear to all that Etrigan was fighting hard to prevent her energies from reaching his person.

"Blood cannot keep that up much longer."

"I know J'onn. I'm on it."

Wonder Woman positioned herself into a fighting stance and charged at the two figures. Batman's eyes widened.

"Diana, don't!" There were times that working alongside an Amazon could be a pain in the ass. Scowling, Batman quickly unfolded his trademark weapon, the batarang, from one of the many compartments in his utility belt. If Diana charged at them and interrupted the spell, that much energy, without control, could be deadly to all involved. He swiftly took aim and threw the bat-shaped weapon –

-- only to miss as Diana, with the speed that only a warrior and one that was familiar with the Batman's fighting skills, dodged the batarang and watched as it slammed into Le Fay's armor-plated chest. Though she had previously been able to raise magical shields and prevent his weapons from striking her, her concentration on Etrigan had been so focused that she had not had the time to raise one.

"You fool! You have no idea what you have --"

Before the Le Fay could finish her shriek an explosion of mystical energies engulfed the ruins and lit up the sky around the countryside for miles. Had the Watchtower still been intact and had had a Leaguer on duty, the explosion could have been, like the Great Wall of China, seen from orbit.

"Take it easy."

His body and head aching, J'onn J'onzz slowly opened his eyes, his vision revealing to him the human form of Etrigan, Jason Blood, with his distinct solemn face and swept-back red hair, complete with the white streak running through it.

"What happened?" "I used a revival spell on you; I just finished performing it on the speedster and the Kryptonian; they should be coming around shortly."

"What happened to Le Fay?"

"If I survived a blast of that magnitude, then so did LeFay; she's gone for now, but at least she wasn't able to complete the unlocking spells."

"And Batman and Diana?"

The expression on Blood's face made J'onn's blood run cold. "I'm not sure. I just, well, I don't know."

Both the Martian and the Demon's host glanced at the blackened center of Stonehenge.

There was absolutely no sign of either the Dark Knight or the Amazing Amazon.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes:

This is where it all begins; we'll get into Nadia in the next chapter.

For those who don't know, the Justice League's prior encounter with Morgaine le Fay can be seen in the first season episode '_A Knight of Shadows'_.


	2. The Dark Island, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows_

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, _Starcrossed_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story is set during/after episode 6, "_The Fortress on the __Solitary __Island__"_.

Enjoy!

_"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."_

_-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-_

For Bruce Wayne, the modern form of entertainment, the motion-picture, had been once upon a time a source of entertainment, an escape into fantasy that was almost required for anyone's childhood. That had changed forever the night his parents had been gunned down after leaving a showing of _The Mark of Zorro_. In that time, he had never watched that film again and did everything he could to avoid seeing them. The few occasions that he had been forced to had been under Wayne Enterprises functions or extenuating circumstances, such as when Dick had tried to get him to see _It's a Wonderful Life _one Christmas Eve several years prior.

But, before that night, he had, like any other child seen the film _The Wizard of Oz_ and was well aware of the classic line uttered by Judy Garland's character Dorthy to her canine companion the moment she stepped out of the crashed farmhouse and surveyed the domain of the Munchkins:

_"I don't think we're in __Kansas__ anymore, Toto."_

There were many possible reasons for why such a thought would come to his mind now of all times. Whenever he had received a bad blow to the head, his thoughts tended to rumble and despite the highly trained disciplines that had gone into forging the mind of the Bat, a good blow could easily stir up early or nearly-forgotten memories.

Or perhaps it was location. When he had awoken, it was clear that he was no longer in Stonehenge and it wasn't just the lack of the ruins. The local environment appeared to be confined, almost like an island. The presence of an ocean within viewing distance leant support to such an observation

The Dark Knight had, in those initial moments, wondered if the energies from Morgaine Le Fay's spell that he had accidentally interruptedd had hurled him miles away from the ruins, but had realized within an instant that such a thing was not possible. Even with the Kelvar weaved into his costume and the minor cushioning it allowed, such a liftoff and subsequent crash landing would have killed him. There was also the matter of where Diana was; there was no indication that she had landed next to him, so where was she?

However, wherever he was, wherever Diana had landed, there was one familiar element, one that usually happened to him at one point of another between the hours of Eleven P.M. and Three A.M. seven days a week – unless a League mission was in effect.

He had a gun pointed to his cowl.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

Gotham City's protector had awoken to find himself surrounded by military officers of some kind, all wearing what appeared to be hooded masks covering their shoulders and heads. The masks themselves appeared to be a combination of Asiatic and Mediterranean designs, lending support to his island theory.

Even with his limited vantage point, the Batman might have been tempted to declare them Klu Klux Klan members – and yes, the Batman had dealt with them on occasion in Gotham, though that had been years ago, shortly after he donned the cape and cowl for the first time, an era that Dick referred to as B.R., or Before Robin – if not for several factors. Their guns and uniforms were certainly not twentieth-century in design. They were more of a late nineteenth century design, almost French if the Batman's historical lessons were to be remembered.

Yet, these men spoke clear, crisp English, so the French angle was out of the question.

The Batman remained silent, appraising the abilities of his opponents as best as he could.

"Alright, shoot him. But nothing fatal; he may be the one Lord Gargoyle seeks."

"Yes sir!"

The masked commander's men stood at attention, the sound of their rifles preparing to fire at his order. Whoever these people were, they didn't know that more than anything, the Batman _hated _guns.

Their mistake.

For Jean Coq de Raltigue, things had been going from bad to worse within the last hour. The orphan they had befriended upon this island, Marie, had been captured by the soldiers that had killed her parents and enslaved the village population to whatever it was they were trying to build within the inner confines of the island. And, by attempting to discover her whereabouts, Nadia's Blue Water had gone off into its mysterious warning signal, attracting soldiers to their position and resulting in her capture.

He needed to get back to the cave where they had taken shelter and think how to possible get into that compound and locate Nadia. But even with his genius, the chances of pulling off something like that were close to nil, even he could see that. He need help to –

The young French inventor tilted his head quizzically. In the distance, he had thought he heard what sounded like a scuffle, almost like the cracking of bones. His natural curiosity instantly overriding his better judgment, Jean moved through the expanse of the trees stealthily, just in case these soldiers were still out there.

After several minutes, he approached where he had heard the sounds. He peeked through the bushes cautiously, careful to not try to be spotted and –

"Who are you?"

Jean's eyes widened and his mouth hung open He was as shocked and as speechless as the first time less than a month ago that he had laid eyes upon Nadia from his uncle's boat upon the River Seine.

He was gazing upon a group of these mysterious soldiers, crumpled and unmoving upon the ground in front of him. Standing atop them was…

Well, for a boy who had designed experimental aircraft, a moving stairway, and more with the money his father had left to him shortly before his disappearance at sea, Jean didn't know how to even comprehend what the man he was seeing atop the mound of soldiers.

The man was cloaked in a dark, swirling cape and black cowl, two pointed demon-like ears protruding from the top of the mask. A symbol of a bat was emblazoned across his massive chest. One of the enemy soldiers was gripped within the grasp of a spiky gauntlet, gasping for breath as the man in the costume stared at him through his blank eye slits.

This creature, no, this man, in his basic costume, reminded Jean of a sketch he had once seen in a book on the great Italian inventor Leonardo daVinci and with that memory, he instantly knew how to simply yet eloquently classify this man standing before him.

A 'Bat-man'.

He stepped out of the bushes with quiet amazement, the gaze of the 'Bat-man' focusing on this new intruder onto what had clearly been a one-sided struggle

"Astounding. I've never seen anything like that in my life!"

Jean Coq de Raltigue never claimed to be a very religious boy, despite the insistence and wishes of his aunt, but it appeared that his hopes for a divine intervention, of an appearance of a holy warrior to rescue Nadia from the clutches of the castle that he had seen on the ridge overlooking the island's center had been answered.

A boy of no more than thirteen or fourteen, wide eyes and dressed in clothing that was similar to these soldiers' uniforms in that it was clearly twentieth-century, had approached from the bushes. The Batman had known he was there, of course. His attention had been focused on this soldiers who had proven relatively easy to take out and had proceeded to interrogate the commander who minutes before had held a gun to his cowl when the boy had appeared. In his look, he reminded the Dark Knight of Dick Grayson when he had first taken the Boy Wonder under his protection all of those years ago.

_Years ago.___

The men's uniforms, the guns they had wielded, and the boy's clothing all connected in the Batman's finely honed mental computer, creating a theory and probability that with each passing second became more and more likely.

"Who are you?"

"I…I…My name is Jean. Jean Coq de Raltigue"

The boy was more in awe than in fear of the Batman's appearance, even with the lack of a full night cover as the Batman was used to in springing his image of terror upon Gotham's criminal population.

_Very much like Dick._

"Alright Jean, what year is it?"

The boy starred at him, almost as if he was unable to comprehend the question.

"I asked you what year it is."

"That's easy – 1889."

The Dark Knight Detective, the defender of Gotham and its innocent, grimaced in a way he had not done for many years.

He was no longer in his own time.

_To be continued…_

Well, we're off. Familiar Nadia characters will appear in the next chapter, from the Lord Gargoyle to the _Nautilus _and her crew. And of course, there's the question of what happened to Diana, a question that I guarantee will be answered in Part Two. Hope everyone's enjoying it and thank you for reading!


	3. The Dark Island, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows: Part 2

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's

magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story is set during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

Enjoy!

V

As was customary when the _Nautilus _surfaced from the dark depths of the ocean to recharge her batteries and air supply -- something that, even with the ship's advanced particle-annihilation core, was still required -- Captain Nemo stood atop the main deck, inspecting the craft and reflecting upon the events of the last several days.

The children that the _Nautilus _had rescued from the Neo-Atlantean attack on the American warship were gone and they had resumed their attempts to locate the Neo-Atlantean submarine prototype and flagship, the _Garfish_, and with it, the source of this entire nightmare, the Lord Gargoyle himself.

But the ocean was vast and even with the equipment that the _Nautilus _utilized, finding their enemy was proving, as always, difficult and tiring. But they couldn't stop, especially now To be utilizing the number of resources that they had learned of over the last few months meant that Gargoyle was stepping up his plans for the Neo-Atlantean movement and their bid for global control.

He could not, _would _not let that happen. Not while there was still life in his body, or the bodies of Electra, his crew, or the _Nautilus _itselfFor Gargoyle to unleash upon humanity his wrath combined with Atlantean technology…

Nemo, as always, shuddered at the thought, the memories of what he himself had done with that technology in order to prevent Gargoyle from utilizing it thirteen long years ago haunting him once again - and again and again until the day he would die.

He buried his thoughts, determined to concentrate once more on the work that lay ahead of them. The recharging process would be complete soon and they would be prepared to resume their search for the _Garfish_. He turned and began making his way back towards the submarine's main hatch --

-- when from the distance he heard a strange whistling sound, one that sounded almost eerily similar to a falling mortar shell. Nemo's eyes widened --

-- and dove to the deck as_ something _crashed into the water less than a handful of meters from the plated hull of the _Nautilus_

As he rose, his first thought was not for his personal safety, but for the safety of his crew. He glanced quickly at the horizon, searching for any sign of trouble. It couldn't be the American warship that had been attacked earlier by the _Garfish_; they were leagues upon leagues away. And the _Garfish _itself was incapable of firing a surface-to-surface underwater volley as

But as the side hatches opened and as engineers and other crewmembers began moving into position to ascertain what had happened, Nemo saw that is was certainly _not _a shell or Neo-Atlantean mortar. From the water, with the _Nautilus' _netting and deck-mounted cranes, they were pulling a woman from the ocean. Perhaps the victim of a shipwreck? She was dressed…

…well, dressed was _hardly _an appropriate term to describe her as a shipwreck victim. She was dressed in stylized leotard and breastplate that appeared Greek in origin to Nemo's experienced eye. A golden tiara adorned her head while a golden lasso and bracelets graced her hips and arms respectively.

From behind him, he could sense Electra running up the main hatch, his first officer temporarily distracted by the sight of the woman being pulled up.

"Electra?

"There's no sign of any Neo-Atlantean craft. Where she fell from is beyond us."

She glanced at in-progress rescue before addressing her captain once more.

"What are your orders regarding her, Captain?"

The Captain stared at the unconscious woman for a long moment and then turned back towards his first officer.

"Bring her aboard and see that she is tended to. As soon as she's aboard, prepare to flood all ballast tanks, just in case."

"Aye sir."

V

From the plush interior of his personal quarters, the Lord Gargoyle turned to stare at the battered, bandaged officer addressing him now. If the stylized, skull-like mask that adorned the Neo-Atlantean Lord's face was transparent, the soldier would have seen a flicker of amusement cross his face.

"A 'Bat-Man', you say?"

The soldier nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Lord Gargoyle, or someone dressed in the image of a bat. We found him sprawled on the ground less than two kilometers from the mining camps. When we attempted to question and detain him, he attacked us."

"And he managed to take down your entire unit in the space of less than a minute, hmm?"

"He…sir, he fought unlike _anything _my men or I have ever seen before. His speed, his style, his strength - no ordinary human could possess."

"What is it you are trying to state? That this 'Bat-man', like Nemo, is one of our own?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not sir. I speak only what logically makes sense."

Gargoyle continued to state at him, silent, before replying

"This will require your immediate attention, Captain. Continue your patrols to locate him and make certain that the security surrounding the Tower is secure. I must attend to the ceremony tonight."

The soldier bowed.

"It will be done as you command it, Lord Gargoyle."

As the soldier exited his Chamber of Command, the Lord Gargoyle placed his hands in the pockets of his sharply cut business suit and stepped out onto the balcony, gazing over the expanse of the island and the nearly-completed project, the new Tower of Babel. His thoughts turned to the events of the last day and what had thus far occurred.

Completion of the Tower project was at hand and he had the daughter of his old enemy as his 'guest' within the castle. But he did not have her Blue Water, a victim of the ocean she had claimed.

Perhaps Nadia had been lying, perhaps not - he strongly suspected the former. Perhaps she had an accomplice aside from the lion cub and the little girl. Perhaps it was indeed this 'Bat-Man' that the Captain had spoken of -- though the idea of this 'Bat-Man' being a Neo Atlantean intrigued Gargoyle. Perhaps a former Royal Guard of Old Tartessos?

Possible, but not likely given that they had all been accounted for, either dead or now serving the Neo-Atlantean movement.

Either way, this was an interesting development to his plans and while the Lord Gargoyle preferred his plans and schedule to proceed with as originally intended, he was always prepared for a wild card to enter the picture.

Whoever this 'Bat-Man' was, he would be found and eliminated, another broken and defeated body atop the pile that he had built over the last thirteen years, a summit from which he would raise the Neo-Atlantean flag and see the past come alive once again.

V

"That utility belt of yours is absolutely fascinating!"

"The same could be said of your story."

This boy, with his enthusiasm towards life was reminding the Dark Knight more and more of Dick Grayson after he had chosen to reveal his identity to the young orphan. And like that orphan, he was now in a cave. The sun was setting and the darkness would soon be upon the island, the perfect working conditions for the Dark Knight as far as he was concerned.

Contrary to most occasions, he had listened patiently to Jean's tale, of the World's Fair in Paris, of his encounter with Nadia and the Grandis Gang, of their flight to Marseilles and then to the open ocean, to the American battleship and from there to this island. It was an interesting, if somewhat unbelievable tale to an ordinary man.

But then again, the Batman was no ordinary man.

He was a man who had fought against and seen everything, from ordinary, superstitious and cowardly criminals to the psychopaths, schizophrenics, and sociopath of his Rogues Gallery. Add into the mix demons, witch boys, immortals, and zombies and it would be hard to _not _believe Jean's story. Thus far, it had all been fascinating - except that the boy had slightly glazed over exactly what had transpired between the American warship incident and his arrival on the island.

The boy was clearly hiding something, but the Dark Knight sensed it was more out of a promise than malice towards him.

"So, will you help me rescue Nadia, King, and Marie?"

From the shadows of the cave, the Batman stared at Jean, considering this. It didn't matter is this place, this else-world, was another reality. He knew it couldn't be the past as they knew it; the technology described by Jean and what he had seen of this island's facility was far too advanced for the year that Jean had stated it was, 1889. There was always the possibility that this Jean was lying to him, but it didn't seem likely. Still, he wished he had access to the main Computer, so as to chart and compare star positions with those in his era to verify Jean's story.

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that he had made a vow to protect the innocent and defenseless upon the grave of his parents. That applied to any era, any time, and any place.

"Yes."

These Neo-Atlanteans and this Lord Gargoyle, whoever and whatever they were, had no idea of what was about to hit them.

To be continued…

Author's Notes

Gothic Cowboy -- I had just recently purchased the entire series in ADV Films' nicely-priced two box sets when _Starcrossed _aired. As the summer progressed, I resumed work on my other work and, needing a break from thirty-page chapter format of 'Star Trek/Star Wars: The Best of Both Worlds", I sought an alternative, one that combined this fascinating anime series. Then, lo and behold, it hit me - a JL/Nadia crossover. And so, here we are. Hope you enjoy and continue to read it!


	4. The Great Atlantean Caper, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story begins during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

Enjoy!

V

Part III

_"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."_

_-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-_

V

Electra, the _Nautilus' _first Officer quickly followed her commander through the bowels of the magnificent submarine, heading for the bulkhead that opened up into the submarine's state-of-the-art

"What is the status of our 'guest'?"

The aging, but still distinguished M.C.O. that had served with Nemo for the past decade looked up from the medical bed. The mysterious woman that had fallen from the skies into the waters around the _Nautilus _was still clothed in her tiara, but her breastplate and lasso were now laid out on the counter next to the bed.

"Still unconscious, Captain. She's suffered multiple bruises and possibly some internal bleeding. Either way..."

"Either way, what?"

"It almost looks like she was in a fight or scuffle of some kind _before _she fell."

Nemo considered this.

"But from where is the question that concerns us. Electra?"

"Systems showed no sign of Neo-Atlantean airships at the time of the impact, Captain."

Nemo frowned.

"This requires some thought and investigation. In the meantime, keep her --"

The _Nautilus _suddenly began rocking and Nemo was thrown against the wall as his officers fell to the floor. The communication lines to the Sickbay started beeping and Nemo grabbed at the receiver.

"Report!"

"_Captain, I think you'd better come up on deck. We've got problems."_

V

Sanson cried out as the static electricity in the air contained within the Tower ruined his perfectly-groomed hairstyle.

"My hair! My beautiful hair!"

Grandis Granva, already in a foul mood after having been imprisoned by Neo-Atlantean forces, worked like a slave, starved, and now nearly killed by a force beyond her comprehension, for lack of better term, lost it.

"Shut up Hanson!"

As Grandis and her one-time chauffeur, the lean and incredibly vain Sanson, went at it as they had many a time for the last several years, Jean glanced over at Grandis' other companion, the mechanic Sanson, tranquilly composed despite the surge of energy that they had just hit the chamber.

It had been less than a month before that, on the same day that he had first laid eyes on Nadia and King, that he had encountered the Grandis Gang, an international trio of one lady villain and her male escorts that had sought to steal Nadia's blue water necklace, now contained within his pocket, but they didn't realize that. From their mechanical wonder, the Gratan, they had chased Nadia and Jean from Paris to Le Harve to the Atlantic Ocean and now, here on this Neo-Atlantean stronghold.

Grandis suddenly remembered that Jean was there and chose to pull the spare firearm that Sanson had "borrowed

"Look kid, we're in the middle of a _really _bad situation and --"

She trailed off, suddenly aware of a presence behind her and she turned to face a narrowed-eyed, angry phantasm of the night that focused on the weapon she held within her gloved hands.

"I hate guns."

His voice sounded like a low growl being spoken over the chewing of glass and just for a moment, reminded the thief of her father during his occasional stern lectures. In that moment of distraction, before Grandis knew what had happened, the gun was scattering across the floor, just as Sanson charged the Dark Knight.

"You leave Ms. Granva alone, you --"

Sanson quickly followed the same path that the Neo-Atlantean guards from earlier that day as Batman landed a kick into the chauffeur that sent him flying through the air. Grandis just starred on in shock. Sanson had always been the best hand-to-hand fighter she had known, both in the present era and back when .

"Stop it, stop it! We don't have time for this," cried Jean, rushing between Grandis and the Dark Knight.

"Anyway, who is this costumed freak?"

Jean smiled proudly.

"This is Batman!"

And yet, there was no reply to the introduction that the young Frenchman had given. Jean glanced to the side --

-- and found the Dark Knight approaching Hanson, the mechanic gazing upon the inner workings of the Tower and the crystal-like apparatus

"This is beyond me; I have no idea what this it."

Batman was silent.

"I do. While slightly off and odd, I recognize it."

V

"What is it?"

"A crystalline-super conductive antenna, designed expressly for the purpose of pulling in, concentrating, and then unleashing ."

He knew this because it reminded of the test data he had seen on the Army's _Hyperion-_class orbital defense satellite prototype, a wonderful little project that he had known about only because of the then-involvement of a thankfully now-retired General Hardcastle, the alien-hating General that had caused many a personal problem for Clark and with whom he had had a little chat with some time back.

The technology was, still...different. Another odd facet of this Neo-Atlantean technology, tech that was form more advanced that anything from the late Nineteenth-century should be.

"How could you know that?"

Batman didn't reply, causing Hanson to glance back at Jean.

"Your 'friend' isn't very social, is he."

Jean shrugged.

"But you saw the way he can fight. He's our ally -- just as you should be."

Grandis considered this for a moment.

"Well, for this set of circumstances, maybe. But..."

As the two began discussing the formation of an alliance, Batman continued to glance over the technology in the room, his thoughts whirling as he mentally reviewed everything that he had seen thus far since his arrival earlier that afternoon.

After having spoken with Jean and learning what he young Frenchman knew, he had proceeded to scout the island, ordering Jean to stay put until he had returned. Obviously, like Dick and Tim, he hadn't. In fact, he had been on his way back to the cave when the blast had gone off and he had immediately knew that he had to see exactly what the hell he was dealing with.

Security for the entire island was above-average. He had broken into places just as, if not, more heavily guarded as this, from Ra's al Ghul's desert compound during their first encounter to the Thanagarian flagship the previous month.

This gathering movement, this cult -- whatever the hell it was, had been hosting a large gathering of its members this evening. The Dark Knight didn't have to be a detective to see that it had to do with the completion of the tower that dominated the central interior of this island, the tower that had just fired that blast of energy into the heavens and then relayed it to a nearby island.

With this many members and to utilize this kind of operation, this Neo-Atlantean movement had to have resources and wealth that rivaled even his and Ra's al Ghul's combined.

Now there was food for thought. Jean had claimed that he had never heard of Gotham City -- was it possible that Ra's or his own ancestors didn't exist in this era?

"Batman?"

Jean had been trying to speak with him. Batman withdrew from his mental review and back to the land of the living.

"It isn't safe here; we need to get moving."

He glanced back at the Grandis gang.

"Can _they _be trusted?"

Jean shrugged.

"Considering the circumstances, I'd say we need all the allies we can get to rescue Nadia."

Before Batman could retort, however, a booming voice suddenly filled the walls of the chamber, resonating through speakers hidden throughout the facility and across the entire island itself. It was a cool, crisp voice with a touch of coolness to it.

"_To Jean Coq de Raltigue, I congratulate you for eluding our patrols for as long as you have. But wherever you are on this land, the time for delays and for hiding is now over. In one hour, a small lion is going to die. You know what I am speaking of. A little native girl will follow and finally, your companion, Nadia. You can, however, save them by surrendering yourself at the castle. You have one hour starting...now."_

The voice faded and silence filled the chamber. Finally, Granvis spoke.

"What are we going to do?"

Jean looked downward, a sullen look gracing his normally bright and smiling face.

"I...I'll surrender. It's the only way to save Nadia."

"No, it isn't."

Grandis eyed the Dark Knight.

"What, do you have some kind of plan, you freak?"

Batman smirked.

"I _always _have a plan."

V

Normally the sight of serious, yet still playful banter between the crewmembers, the _Naultilus_'s bridge was eerily quiet, marked only by the beeping of the bridge's consoles and equipment as the crew absorbed what had just happened, what the source of the blast was. Many of them has seen it what seemed like a lifetime ago in old Tartessos.

A blast of energy from a Tower of Babel.

After thirteen years, Gargoyle had finally built a new Tower of Babel. Those that encountered the weapon before were equally in shock that such a terrifying weapon had been rebuilt. But it only served to speak volumes about Gargyole's determination and his insanity with the restoration of a bygone Empire.

Finally, Nemo spoke to his bridge staff.

"Do you have a bearing on the blast's origin?"

The helmsman nodded, fiddling with a knob and calling up a map of the ocean and all nearby landmasses, including what remained the island.

"Bearing one-five-one mark three-three-zero. We can reach the origin point in about an hour at maximum speed. Shall I set a course."

It was, of course, a formality; he already knew exactly what Nemo was going to order.

"Flood all ballast tanks. Engage the particle-annihilation engine and set course at top speed."

It was time to take the fight to enemy.

V

The Lord Gargoyle, High Commander of the Neo-Atlantean's political and military arm, glanced down in slight amusement at the looks of shock upon the boy's face and his two companions, two of the mercenaries that had been captured shortly before the arrival of the _Garfish _and were now clothed in Atlantean military uniforms, the key to their stratagem tha was now about to fall apart.

"Why didn't they --"

"A shield of pure textite. Those bullets you fired never had a chance."

Gargyole snapped his fingers, preparing to summon the soldiers back into the main foyer --

-- when the upper observatory windows exploded, raining glass down upon Gargoyle, his emerging men, and the three intruders. From the crashing maelstrom of broken glass and stell came a leather-winged shadow that touched down atop the cross that held Nadia with a speed and grace that astonished even the Atlantean Lord.

The Lord Gargoyle now stood face-to-face with the visage of the Dark Knight Detective.

Over the course of a decade and a half, many had come face to face into the grim look of Gotham City's protector. They had ranged from the common criminal—such as muggers, rapists, gangsters, and corrupt businessmen—to the more exotic varieties in the form of costumed criminals, supervillains, mutants, zombies, and immortal conquerors. Most of them had been scared out of their minds at the sight of the horned mask and cowl.

From beneath his mask, Gargoyle simply raised an eyebrow.

As he made the slightest of motions with his wrist, this man had suddenly raised what appeared to be some manner of gun or grappling hook from.

"Don't even think about it."

The voice was cold and commanding. Gargoyle was further impressed by this man's audacity and aura of command he surrounded himself with. His men had not been exaggerating at all.

It would be a pity to kill a man such as this, but as the Atlantean sciences and doctrines went, humans were nothing more than genetically-engineered slaves through which the goal and life of Atlantis was to be furthered.

But just when he thought the floorshow was finished, the lights went off and the main wall quickly followed the dome in terms of destruction, some sort of vehicle crashing through the palace wall and the sounds of his men firing and bullets ricocheting off metal and stone.

And then, without so much as a warning, he was thrown back as the textite shield _exploded_. _Exploded_! Such a thing was not possible!

After a long moment, the emergency lighting system came to life as he raised his bruised form to now see that his three 'guests' were gone, the cross and chains swaying lifelessly thanks to the breeze that had found its way into the palace through the now large hole in the wall.

Out of the corner of his eye, a metallic glean caught his attention. Gargoyle bent down to examine the fallen chain and what had lodged itself into the metal and one of the shards of textite.

_Shuiken of the Oriental region, he noted._

All Bat-shaped.

The strange gun that the intruder had drawn was now on the other side of the wall, possible through a rope or line of some kind that had had lodged into both ends of the foyer's wall.

"Your orders, Lord Gargoyle?"

Gargoyle stood up, fingering the _Shuiken _for a moment before replying to the lieutenant that had quickly made his way up the foyer's stairs to the spot where the Atlantean Lord had been thrown back by the explosion.

"Mobilize the robotic sentries and the _Garfish_. Have my airship prepared as a precaution."

"Yes sir!"

As the lieutenant rushed away to issue his orders, Gargoyle looked over the chaos that had befallen his domain, his most prized citadel.

If his sentries and forces successfully captured the intruders, he would not only claim the Blue Water, but a man who he would _greatly _enjoy personally questioning.

After all, he was the Lord Gargoyle and no human, rogue Atlantean, or 'Bat-Man' would stand in his way as he fulfilled his destiny and restoredthe Neo-Atlantean Empire to its rightful place as the ruler of the planet.

__

_V_

__

_To be continued.._

V

Batman's entrance and exit from Gargoyle's castle is inspired by his museum entrance/exit from Tim Burton's original film; it's one of my favorite scenes in the movie and I've always wanted to pay tribute to it.


	5. The Great Atlantean Caper, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's

magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story begins during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

Enjoy!

VVV

Part IV

"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."

-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-

VVV

Built utilizing the remnants of the Grandis family fortune and the designs of mechanic Sanson, the _Grandis Tank _or _Gratan _-- or even _Catherine _as Grandis affectionately called it -- had been the vehicle of choice for the Granva Gang for the better part of the 1880's. With medium armor plating and the ability to travel on land, in water, and through air, it was truly a state-of-art automaton for late nineteenth century technology.

It also happened to be in the number one slot of things that the Neo-Atlantean armed forces and their robotic sentries wanted to, like the recently-retired Shayera Hol AKA Hawkgirl, smash until it was destroyed. Or so the Batman noted as the _Gratan _sped down the platform leading from the castle to the island's center and the Tower of Babel.

While Sanson's driving was erratic and frankly dangerous, Batman knew that the man was doing the best he could given the circumstances. In addition, the cross that held Jean's friend, Nadia, was providing extra weight that was slowing them down. He was therefore on top of the _Gratan _trying to cut Nadia loose from the cross and then dump it off the ramp so that they could increase their rate of acceleration.

The plan had called for the _Gratan _to switch to nautical mode once they reached the lake and then run -- or in this case paddle -- like hell to the drainage ducts that connected the island's interior to the ocean. Normally, that would not have been an option, but thanks to Hanson's sabotage were now clear. Out there, they would have to hope they could outrun the _Garfish _and make for the mainland.

The drainage pipes have proven to be a necessary avenue due to his discovery while scouting the island. Curious to test his own theories about the extent of the Neo-Atlantean technology, he had taken a Batarang -- unique in that this variant was one of the first of the next generation of his arsenal, a type sharpened by laser on the microscopic level to allow virtual ease in cutting. In theory, it should have cut through any known alloys like a hot knife through butter

In practice, it had barely been able to lodge itself into the piece of discarded armor plating that he had tested it on. In short, this level of molecular density manipulation should _not _have been possible at this point in time. Curiouser and curiouser, as the Mad Hatter -- both Lewis Caroll's creation and the Gotham criminal Jervis Tetch -- would say. This was just another oddity of this time-period and something that, as a detective, he wanted very much to investigate further.

But that would only happen if they actually _made _it to the lake before being intercepted, something that was not possible with the cross currently slowing them down .

With his portable laser-cutter -- borrowed from Wayne Tech, as was the case with so many of his technological tools -- Batman began slicing through Nadia's bonds. Getting the bonds off of the little girl and the lion cub had been easier; Nadia's was far more complicated -- at least to a layman, something the Dark Knight certainly was _not. _The difficulty lay both in Sanson's driving and the alloy used in these bonds. It appeared to be steel, but once again, more reinforced than should have been possible in the nineteenth century.

Nadia was, contrary to what he would have thought, was not screaming but silent and amazed as the Batman went to work.

"Who _are _you?"

He didn't bother to look up as he manipulated the cutting tool.

"A friend. Hold still."

With a grunt, he tore the remaining bond from the cross and threw them off to the side of the ramp.

"I've got you."

Despite the fact that she had barely cast her eyes upon Gotham's Dark Knight for no more that a handful of minutes, Nadia allowed herself to be lowered into his spiked gauntlets --

-- and they were nearly thrown off as the _Gratan_'s launched itself off of the ramp and over the expanse of the lake, the cross flying off into the distance as Hanson released the _Gratan_'s grappling arms. Under normal circumstances, his instincts would had directed the launching of his own grappling line towards the closest building or tower.

However, he had to resist that impulse since of course the object that adhered to Newton's principles of gravity was their, as the street phrase went, their ticket off the island. So, his left hand wrapped around Nadia's waist, he threw himself and the child down onto the _Gratan_'s hull. Nadia's eyes widened in amazement as his right hand went rigid, the fingers on the glove extending and becoming claw-like, digging into the hull.

This particular item of technology he had first tested five years previously when the Joker had commandeered Lex Luthor's Lex-Wing and had, alongside laying waste to half of Metropolis, shot down the Bat-Wing. He had been forced to ditch the aircraft and use these claws to latch onto the Lex-Wing

"Switching to nautical mode!"

Now that he knew that Sanson could hear him through the hatch, Batman chose to respond to the rather wild ride.

"Warn me if you're going to do that! Keep it steady"

"_You_ keep steady! I'm driving here!"

If he hadn't been in danger of falling off and if Sanson could have seen him, then he would have gotten a full blast of the glare that Batman had given the Flash after his twiddling with a Thanagarian interceptor had not only caused further damage to Wayne Manor, but had almost killed his loyal and trusted manservant, Alfred Pennyworth.

"Forget it! We'll make our getaway through the intake pipe, " Grandis yelled as the _Gratan_'s propellers came online, thrusting the craft towards their exit --.

-- and they came to a stop at the sight that awaited them, the Neo-Atlantean submarine of the _Garfish_-class. Now it was Sanson's turn to act upon impulse. The Gratan's own cannon thundered in front of them as one of Hanson's custom Techno-bombs was launched at the _Garfish_-class submarine --

-- and it simply bounced off of the enemy hull.

As the explosive splashed into the water, an exploding Batarang sailed from Batman's hand and through the air towards its intended target. No that actually thought it would help, but the scientific portion of his brain he wanted to further test his thoughts on whether or not this Neo-Atlantean technology could stand up to good old twenty-first century explosives.

And, just like the molecularly-sharpened Batarang earlier, little effect, though there was some slight scratches and denting..

Les than two standard seconds later, the submarine's own arsenal fired off a persuasive rebuttal at the _Gratan_, causing the waters around the custom-built all-purpose vehicle to rock back and forth through the waves and the Dark Knight to tighten his grip on Nadia and the hull.

"You have one minute to stand down and surrender," an amplified voice boomed from the submarine, though it was not Gargoyle's.

Batman grimaced, wishing now that he had the Batboat or that le Fay had not shot down the Batwing over Stonehenge; its missiles would probably have been able to pierce that submarine's hull. But given the results of his Batarang test, even he was reluctant to put much faith in the Batwing's own arsenal, even with its own payload.

As with so many aspects of his life, things did not turn out exactly as plan. That annoyed him more than anything else. He prided himself on being a master strategist, on having backup plans for backup plans. When on that rare occasion it didn't work, such as AMAZO's unexpected adaptation to his Kryptonite a year earlier, he got, as the punks on Gotham's streets would say, _very _pissed off.

VVV

From his chair of command, Captain Nemo was a nexus of concentration and battle prowess, his eyes fixated on his senior staff and the bridge's monitors.

"Time to surfacing?"

"Our ballast tanks will be completely emptied in five, four, three, two… we have surfaced, sir."

The bridge's monitors recorded their transition from the waves towards the surface, the _Garfish _and half a kilometer distant, a strange, red-shaped water craftBut he paid the latter no attention.

"They're firing on us, Captain!"

The _Garfish _had indeed opened fire. But what occurred was an exact opposite of the Gratan's volley minutes earlier. The shots from the _Garfish_'s turrets simply bounced off the _Nautilius' _hull. He couldn't help but smile as he pictured the reaction of the submarine's commander and of Gargoyle. The Neo Atlantean had likely not been aware of the extent of the _Nautilius_' hull plating.

Now it was time for his second surprise of the day.

"Ramming speed!"

VVV

"The Nautilius!"

As the cry came from both Jean _and _Nadia, a small, but not entirely insignificant piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Gotham City's champion.

When he had first spoken with Jean earlier that day, he had been under the impression that the young French boy had left out a key part in his narrative of what had occurred to him since he had encountered Nadia and the Granva Gang in Paris, specifically in relation to the attack on the American warship and their arrival on this island.

Now, he was -- with reasonable confidence -- certain that the _second _submarine, this _Nautilus_, which had sliced through the _Garfish _as easily as his modified Batarang should have sliced through Neo-Atlantean armor, sending the enemy craft to the bottom of the lake. As fascinating as this, he knew that they were out his league.

"Head for the intake pipe," he yelled, his order obeyed as the _Gratan _accelerated forward towards their original exit point, his last sight of battle being the _Nautilus' _launching of what appeared to be missiles at the Tower.

VVV

Now it was Nemo's turn to be shocked as the _Nautilius_' aerial depth charges were deflected from the key firing aperture of the Tower, the unmistakable glint of a textite barrier revealing itself in the explosive light.

He cursed at his inability to see that even with the island's obscure location, with the security systems that had been put into place, that Gargoyle would --

"Captain, we're reading a massive energy build-up coming from the tower!"

If there had been any doubt that Gargoyle was insane, there wasn't any now.

He was going to fire the Tower of Babel at _point-blank range._

Images of the incineration of Old Tartressos flashed through the Captain's mind as he shouted out his orders.

"Fill all ballast tanks. Dive, dive!"

But he knew it would not be enough, that there was not enough time as he watched as the energy circuits become energized, the weapon of mass destruction power up, as the the Tower of Babel fired --

VVV

The energy output of Tower of Babel required a specialized brand of crystal that had been lost when Old Tartessos had been destroyed thirteen years prior, forcing the Neo-Atlantean scientists under Gargoyle's command to take what they could and mix and match to produce an artificial crystal for the project.

But of course, there were differences between the level of energy that natural crystals and artificial crystals were capable of focusing and how long it could be repeated without the molecular density breaking down.

In short, the resulting explosion of the tower and the conflagration that swept across the Neo-Atlantean fortress could, like the destruction of the neighboring island earlier, probably have been seen from orbit, one that rivaled the kamikaze run of the Watchtower towards the Thanagarian hyperspace bypass generator.

VVV

Lord Gargoyle watched with an almost detached interest as his Commander plummeted from the airship _Calcharodon_, shrieking for forgiveness. His failure to capture a handful of children, criminals, and a man playing costumed hero had led to the destruction of the _Garfish _prototype and the island fortress, a fortress through which a good percentage of the movement's funds had gone into. And of course, Nemo was, as he had done for so long, continue to harass their movement.

For now, at least, their attempts at constructing an artificial Tower of Babel had proven successful, though costly. He would step up efforts to locate _Red Noah _and with it, the last remaining Tower. And the _Garfish_'s design have proven successful enough that their secret shipyards had been in production for some time. Best now to concentrate on the prototype aerial warship, the _Kuuchuu Senkan._

He gave the burning inferno of the island once last look as he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the item thrown by the costumed individual, the bat-shaped _Shuriken. _Fingering it, he wondered if its' owner had survived the destruction of the island.

Possibly. Likely too, if the audacity he had shown in his attack on the castle was any indication. But not matter. He, like all other forms of resistance, would fall before the might of Neo-Atlantis.

VVV

Mere moments after he had returned her sole possession, the Blue Water, Nadia hugged Jean, startling the young boy.

"Thank you Jean, for coming back and saving us."

He just grinned and laughed.

"Don't thank me. Without Batman, we would never have gotten to you."

She let go of him and turned to face Gotham's knight. He was standing near the hatch, cloaked in his cape and in what limited shadows the light from the explosion afforded him. King and Marie also glanced at him, fascination by this individual.

"Thank you, Batman."

The Dark Knight simply nodded and proceeded to turn his attention back towards the burning island. The interior had been destroyed, but the outer settlements and the inhabitants had spared and he could discern them standing upon the beach, mesmerized by the conflagration.

In his line of work, the Dark Knight had obviously seen many explosions, the most recent having been the incident in the Sahara desert. But the use of orbital-based weapons platforms worried him once again. He had, as Bruce Wayne, opposed any such forms of "Star Wars" based defense initiatives like the _Hyperion_-class satellites currently in development, knowing full well that in the wrong hands…

His thoughts trailed off as he caught Jean and Nadia starring at the vessel that had saved them.

"The _Nautilus, _Nemo, Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlanteans…What in the world could they really be?

Batman starred out once more at the island, then the _Nautilius_, and the departing airship.

With everything that had happened to him in the last day, every impossible aspect of this era, he, in his role as a Detective, intended very much to find out the answers to Jean's question, for both of their sakes.

VVV

To be continued…

Well, at last we're finally moving out of the Dark Island arc of _Nadia _and into the _Nautilus_ arc of the series. Things are going to become quite interesting and fun to write in the coming chapters.

Batman's new type of Batarang is my own little foreshadowing into the katana utilized by Curae, a member of the League of Assassins from the _Batman Beyond _era The reference to the Hyperion satellite is another piece of foreshadowing to the reincarnated Joker's seizure of the technology in the DTV film "Return of the Joker".

The incident with the Lex-Wing can be found in the STAS three-parter "World's Finest".

The Thanagarian incident can be found in the Justice League three-parter "Starcrossed".

Like with _The Best of Both Worlds, _I now have a fan-art poster based off of the story, but due to the formatting restrictions, I can't post it in this text. Email me and you'll receive the link to it.


	6. Aboard the Nautilus, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story begins during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

As always, enjoy!

VVV

Part V

"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."

-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-

VVV

It could be said that there were three things that the mechanic Sanson cared about in his life. First and foremost was his continued loyalty to Ms. Granva, all the more remarkable in that even after her family's fortune had dwindled away thanks to the swindler Gonzales, he, like Hanson, had stayed at her side all these years.

Second on the list was his love of machines, of the cogs and gears and oil and the magic that they could produce. Both of these cares combined into his third life-long care, the _Gratan_. It was like the child he had never had -- and given his lack of luck in the field of romance, it was more likely that he never would -- and he cared for it as devoutly as he served Grandis.

Thus, it was no surprise to those that knew him well that the sight of water seeping through the riveted floor of the contraption . He lifted himself out of the hatch and faced the children and the brooding, shadowy outline of Gotham City's champion.

"We're taking on water and we're going to need help. I don't suppose you have anything in that belt of yours?"

Batman glanced at him and then thought for a moment, his eyes focusing on the _Nautilus_, a solution that would be beneficial to both of them forming in his finely honed mind.

"Do you have a radio or any kind of wireless communication?"

VVV

From the observation deck of the _Nautilus_, less than a kilometer away, another dark and brooding figure observed the island and the continued ravaging of the interior by the fiery inferno. Nemo's gaze was however fixated more on the sky and the fading silhouette of the _Calcharodon. _As much as he desired to go after his old nemesis, it was simply not feasible. They were out of range of the aerial depth charges and the _Nautilus _was in no shape to go after them. Their vessel was good, but not _that _good and even they had suffered damage from the explosion of the Tower and their emergency dive.

No, Gargoyle would have to wait another day.

"Captain?"

He didn't bother turning around, but knew that it was Electra, approaching him from the main hatch.

"Captain, the Radio station just intercepted an S.O.S message from that bizarre looking craft."

He considered this, then nodded.

"Read it."

"Aye."

She cleared her throat and read the message to her captain.

"Yoo-hoo, please save us. Pretty please, love Grandis'. That's what it says."

"Hmm."

Nemo hesitated for a long moment before coming to a decision.

"Bring them aboard."

"Are you sure about that, sir?"

The voicing of her thoughts was simply a voicing of one of Nemo's main rules. The _Nautilius _tried to limit the number of individuals from the outside that came aboard their vessel in order to keep their cause and conflict secret from the rest of the world. They just wouldn't have been able to comprehend and understand the horror that their foe could inflict."

"I am. They put up a good fight against the Neo-Atlanteans and Gargoyle. We should reward them for that."

"Aye sir."

VVV

"I'll be back for you shortly."

The door to their quarters swished shut, leaving Jean and Nadia and Marie and King alone to themselves.

The _Nautilus _had towed the _Gratan _into the main hanger, where they had been greeted by a masked Electra who had been, to say the least, surprised to see Jean and Nadia so soon after they had departed.

Marie was playing with King, Jean taking in once again the scientific and technological wonders of the _Nautilus, _and Nadia was silent, still trying to take in everything that had happened in the last two hours.

"Why did you think Bat-man ask for separate quarters?"

Jean just shrugged.

"He struck me as the kind of person who likes spending time alone. I mean, look at how he kept to himself right after we escaped from the island"

But despite his observation, the cogs of Jean's mind, the scientific and analytical procedures that marked his thought processes were still in motion in regards to their masked rescuer, of his talents and abilities, and his very person.

Just like the _Nautilus_, he wanted to crack the shell that was the Batman.

VVV

Though life aboard the _Nautilus _was far from ordinary, the events of the last several days had been enough to surprise even the ship's first officer. Consider that the following had happened with less than forty-eight hours: A costumed -- and she was scantily clad enough to cause Electra to wonder if using the term costumed was overly generous on her part -- woman had fallen from the sky, Gargoyle had attempted to unleash another Tower of Babel, and the children they had rescued less than a week before had been caught up in it, along with another costumed individual, this one with a motif of a bat.

Electra couldn't helped but have a feeling in the pit of her stomach that the woman lying in the sickbay and this 'Bat-man' were related, especially. But she had not brought that up, though she wondered if the 'Bat-man' -- who while physically impressive was as emotionless as even Nemo from what she had been able to briefly discern when she had appeared in the main loading bay

She switched off from the observation on the children's rooms and instead focused on their next set of guests. The pilots of that strange craft were fiddling with the door, but they couldn't break through; the technology of the _Nautilus _was too advanced for them to simply pick the lock. She switched now towards the monitor of their final guest, the "Bat-man" --

-- and her mouth dropped wide open.

The costumed survivor from the island was gone.

VVV

When Bruce Wayne had set out on his ten-year sojourn across the globe, he had been determined to learn every possible skill that would assist in the implementation of the Plan and had therefore sought out those that could teach him such skills. One such instructor had been the magician Zatara, a disciple of Harry Houdini himself who, along with his daughter Zatanna, had taught Bruce the art of escape artistry.

In that time, Zatara's lessons had served him well, both in the defense of Gotham City and the rest of the planet, and quite recently, in his escape from his 'quarters' aboard this _Nautilus_. Call him cynical -- which Alfred, Dick, and his teammates did on a regular basis -- but he had a rather hard time believing that any area where one was locked in and not spoken to for hours on end could be called anything other than 'quarters'.

So, with his trusty utility belt in hand, he had set himself to the task of bypassing the door's security system. It had not been easy for a variety of reasons. First, the waves from the destruction of the island citadel had no doubt done minor, if not significant, damage to his specialized LCD palm pilot and tech. Secondly, even if they had worked, it would have been impossible to make it work with this system.

The latter disturbed him because of his initial examination of the door. The Dark Knight was faced with once again, yet _another _oddity. Submarines were feasible at this point in time; the launch of the Confederate sub _Hunley _and the sinking of the _Housatonic_ in Charleston harbor in 1864 proved that. There was just one major difference. This _Nautilus_ was to the _Hunley _what a simple motor-car was to the _Javelin-7_-class craft that WayneTech had built for the League.

And that was another thing that disturbed him, this name of _Nautilus_. He had, as a child, read Jules Verne's tales of _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas _and _The Mysterious Island _and so knew of the legendary submarine. Normally, he would not have considered that significant; several early submarines that the _Hunley _had preceded had been named _Nautilus_. But when Jean had been speaking to Nadia while they had watched the fire from the _Gratan, _he had inadvertently let slip a key detail.

He had used the name Nemo to describe the skipper of this _Nautilus_.

So, what did it mean?

Perhaps this was simply a man who had a serious problem with his role model and fantasy hero and had had the resources to build such a craft and take on the name. The year according to Jean was 1889 and while it was _possible _that the boy was lying -- and with a degree of confidence, Batman was certain he wasn't; he was too bubbly and enthusiastic to strike him as the lying type, though the concealment of the existence of the _Nautilus_ during his questioning the day before was working against his favor -- that would mean that _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas _had been written less than two decades before.

So, it was possible that someone had grown up with what some considered one of the quintessential works of science-fiction and had wanted to assume the identity of his hero. He had encountered instances like this, most notably with Jervis Tetch, AKA the Mad Hatter. But then, that theory had several holes, namely that the technology in Gargoyle's fortress and on board the _Nautilus _was far too advanced for 1889. In addition, he had, while they were waiting in the loading bay, quietly and indiscreetly questioned Grandis and her two assistants. The year was, as they had said, 1889.

He was becoming more and more certain that this was indeed 1889, but not the one of his world. In short, what was it? If he hadn't known that he had been struck by Morgaine Le Fay, he would have been considering a variety of different scenarios, among them: Was it a dream-world, such as the one that the Mad Hatter had once fashioned for him and that the insane John Dee AKA Dr. Destiny had repeated? Perhaps an hallucination brought on by drugs similar to those crafted by ex-Professor Jonathan Crane, AKA the Scarecrow?

No, it was very likely an alternate 1889; their encounters with the Justice Guild and the Justice Lords had proven the existence of alternate dimensions and Jean having never heard of Gotham City worked in that theory's favor . But that in turn led to several more questions. Even if he was a visitor from another world, was he even justified in possibly altering their own future? And just as importantly, how in the hell was he going to get home?

Clicking his boot heels three times certainly wasn't going to help, as he decided that these were questions best left to another moment, especially when he sunk into the shadows of the _Nautilus_' corridors, attempting to avoid groups of crewmembers coming off duty.

In addition, there was another thought forming in the back of his mind regarding the reaction of that woman -- Electra, Jean had called her -- to his very presence. A look of what could cvonsittute at slight recognition of sorts. Perhaps it was due to an encounter with figures like Jonah Hex or Ra's al Ghul or Sin Tzu-- if such figures existed in this world -- or stories of such heroes and villains -- again, if they existed. Perhaps another example of a Verne-esque scenario at work here or even --

A beeping from his utility belt brought him out of his thoughts. It was his Justice League tracker, a device the League had utilized to track its members via their communicators. The beeping meant that another Leaguer was within tracking distance.

But that couldn't be? He was on the only Justice League member on this entire ship and possibly reality. It had to be malfunction caused by the exposure to the elements.

Or was it?

He tended to expect the unexpected, after all.

VVV

Minutes later, he had, after careful maneuvering through the corridors, tracked the signal back to its source, the ship's sickbay. The doctor and nurse on duty became alarmed at the visit of the masked crime fighter walking through the doors as if he owned the place.

"What are you doing? Who are you?"

But he failed to hear any of the words coming out of the doctor's mouth. His gaze was drawn towards the bed on the wall and its occupant.

Diana of Themyscira, AKA Wonder Woman

VVV

Electra stood outside Jean and Nadia's quarters, a stressed look upon her face. Behind her were Grandis and her cohorts, now under Electra's escort.

"Your friend seems to have let himself out of his quarters?"

"Friend? Oh, you mean Batman? I mean, what's the harm of having him out?"

Electra raised her eyebrow, causing Jean to blush slightly in embarrassment.

"Jean, this is serious. Until I can find him, I'm going to have to confine both of your groups into one room. I -- "

There was a sound of running feet coming from around the corridor. It was Nursce Ecolai, a look of hysterics and fear upon her face.

"Thank god I found you. He's gone berserk!"

"Who?"

"Someone you brought on board, dressed up like a giant bat!"

Electra and Jean starred at each other and then proceeded to run like hell in the direction of Sickbay, Nadia and the others hurrying to catch up.

Electra cursed at herself mentally. Their security precautions were extensive. How in the hell had he slipped out of his quarters without being detected? Could he be a Neo-Atlantean agent, sent by Gargoyle to infiltrate and destroy his sole opponent from within?

She doubted that Gargoyle would have blown up an entire facility in order to sneak and agent aboard their craft, but that man…no, man was too humane. That _monster_'s wickedness and cunning had shown no bounds in all of the years that they had fought against him; he might very well have done such a thing.

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," Jean said as they passed through the sickbay doors --

-- and saw Batman holding the _Nautilus' _CMO by his neck to the wall, calmly interrogating him as if he were questioning a punk in one of Gotham City's many alleyways.

"I'll ask you again: What did you do to her?"

He was pointing with his right hand to one of the sickbay beds, to the woman that the _Nautilus _had fished from the seas shortly before they had detected the energy signature from the Tower of Babel. So, Elecrtra had been correct with her hunch about a possible connection between the two.

"N-nothing. She fell from the sky shortly before the attack on the island."

It was the truth, but it didn't look like he believed it, as Electra decided that it was time to end this.

"Put him down. Now!"

Electra had pulled her gun, training it on the Dark Knight --

-- and less than a moment later, the firearm flew out of her hand, a batarang pinned to the outer casing. A look that mixed surprise and shock flashed across her face. She had barely seen his arm move. How in the hell could anyone move that fast? Thoughts of Gargoyle and Atlantean genetic experimentation came to her mind as she her mind raced furiously, tying to decide what they could do when --

"That's enough!!"

VVV

Captain Nemo had seen much anger in his lifetime. He could see seeds of it being sown in those he knew, particularly in Electra and vowed to keep an eye on them. But the fury exhibited by this 'Bat-man' was frightening and incredible at the sane tine. So controlled, so efficient, so with purpose.

The Dark Knight kept his hold on the Doctor, but instead glanced at the newest entry into the sickbay.

"Captain Nemo, I presume?"

The Captain was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke.

"I can only infer based on that you have scarred one of my crewmembers and are currently harassing my doctor that the woman we found and have treated to the best of our care is known to you."

"She is indeed," a cool, yet slightly weary feminine voice replied. All eyes turned slowly towards the source of the voice. Diana had risen from the hospital bed that she had lay in . She was still bruised and bandaged across her face, but otherwise alright.

She glanced at her injuries, then at her folded clothing and breastplate, and then at the situation being played out in front of her. She couldn't help but sigh. She knew her fellow Leaguer well enough to guess how this had turned out.

"I apologize for my comrade's behavior; he doesn't trust anyone."

"A wise policy," noted the Captain. "Now, will he please put my doctor down?"

Diana nodded and glanced once more at the Dark Knight.

"Put him down, Br --"

Batman gave her a look that would have caused a Gotham criminal to lose control over their bladder. Even if this was an alternate 1889, he wasn't exactly in the position or the mood to divulge his 'civilian' identity until he had a full idea of their situation -- something that wouldn't be possible through simply observation. No, he would have to speak with this Captain and his crew.

He released his hold on the CMO, then starred back at Wonder Woman.

"Diana."

"Batman."

It was Electra, ironically, who broke the long and awkward silence.

"Who are you people? Where in the hell did you come from?"

Diana responded before Batman could stop her. He of course wanted to open a discussion, but rather one under _his _supervision. Call him a control freak, but it was simply how he liked to do this, both in and out of Gotham.

"I am Princess Diana of Themyscira, also known as Wonder Woman. My associate is Br --"

The glare came back on, causing Diana to correct herself.

"-- Batman. We're --"

"--I'll take it from here," Batman cut him. Diana sighed, but allowed him to continue, in part because she was so tired and that Batman seemed to have a greater grasp on what was going on than her. While she tired to follow Amazonian doctrines of peace during her exile in Patriarch's World, the violent aspects of her behavior had come out, especially when she was exhausted.

Better to build an olive branch with these people with Batman, as unsound as it might have seemed.

Nemo nodded, sitting down on one of the sickbay's beds.

"I'd like to hear it then."

And so the Dark Knight began his narrative.

VVV

_To be continued…_

VVV

Everyone who was complaining about Diana's virtual absence since the first chapter can now rest easy (and stop emailing me too, while we're at it -- I kid, I kid!).

Batman's time with Zatarra can be seen in the BTAS episode "Zatanna".

I couldn't resist throwing in the references to the _Hunley_ and the _Housatonic_. Naval archeology, you see, is one of my favorite interests/hobbies, dating back to my checking out from my school's library of the book _Exploring the Titanic_. Since that time, I've collected numerous books on shipwrecks, met _Titanic _discoverer Dr. Robert Ballard himself, and participated in attempts to preserve shipwrecks which are historically significant. It's not often that I get to go into my hobbies and non-DC/pop-culture knowledge in my stories, so this was a fun treat for me in writing this chapter. My love of the ocean also probably explains why I got interested in _Nadia _in the first place.

The encounters with the Justice Guild and Justice Lords can be found in the episodes "Legends" and "A Better World".

The bit of Jonah Hex and Ra's makes reference to the BTAS episode "Showdown", also set in the late nineteenth century.

Sin Tzu was the villain introduced in the animated video-game _Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu_. Based on his backstory as presented in the novelization, he's been active for several centuries.


	7. Aboard the Nautilus, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story begins during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

As always, enjoy!

VVV

Part V

VVV

"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."

-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-

VVV

As was typical of ships and their commanders, the captain's quarters contained memorabilia and artifacts collected during his voyages throughout the seas and oceans and from his career. Nemo's cabin onboard the _Nautilus _was no exception to this. Normally, he would take refuge and limited delight in the displays and literature that presided along with him within the confines of the cabin.

But not tonight.

He was lost in thought, pondering several items. The first was the narrative supplied to them from the costumed survivors. And what a narrative it had been. It had seemed like a dream, an unfathomable possibility and impossibility. They had been audience to a tale of two worlds, of magic and science, and perhaps most importantly, a world without Gargoyle or Neo-Atlantis.

Well, that was not entirely accurate.

Atlantis, from what the Batman's companion had stated, existed in their world as well, but it had never been a dominant world power. Instead, it was an ancient city sunk beneath the waves in combat against extra-dimensional beings called the Old Ones. And their ruler, who they called 'Aqua-man', while occasionally aiding their League, was content to rule the waves beneath their surface.

Nemo couldn't help but wonder what this monarch's reaction would have been in regards to Neo-Atlantis had he also been pulled into this world

He also couldn't help but dwell on what they had said of their Justice League. A group of beings with imaginable abilities and powers banding together to promote peace and justice -- such a concept was unbelievable and hard to embrace given how Gargoyle showed, as Lord Acton had phrased, how absolute power could corrupt an individual.

And speaking of individuals…

With his cabin perched above the aft tail fin of the _Nautilus' _hull, Nemo was granted an impressive view of the forward half of his mighty submarine. The deck was all but deserted, save for one individual: the Bat-man. He had been meditating for a time, the sea air apparently soothing to him. But he was now engaged in the execution of practice moves. Controlled punches and kicks, stylized jumps and acrobatic leaps from one end of the forward bow to the other. Despite himself, he was entranced by the almost ballet-like style of his guest's movements.

The elite of Old Tartessos and the Royal Guards had been trained in basic physical combat, but never anything like _this_. The style was completely different. Still, that hadn't stopped his first officer from privately confiding that she thought he was Neo-Atlantean agent. Nemo could see that that was false. This man had been gifted with incredible physical prowess and his movements spoke to Nemo's eye as the result of years of training and discipline.

No, the Bat-Man was a born fighter and not the product of Atlantean training.

But the Amazon…

Even if they were truly from another world, then there was no reason to bring _that _up at this point in time. Just as the Batman had refused to give his real name or remove his mask, the Captain too had secrets that would not easily divulge. Perhaps she was what she said she was, but it was too early to be certain.

She had had as powerful and commanding a presence as himself -- though even he had to admit, with some wry amusement, that it was not so much her voice and presence that enraptured her audience and those around her. But that was as far as that thought went. Thoughts of another strong, dark-haired woman from his past replaced those of the Amazon…

VVV

Within the rear hanger, Hanson and Sanson were perched above the silent form of the _Gratan_. Despite his desire to both escort Ms. Granva and explore the _Nautilus_, he was also anxious to restore his mechanical brainchild to full operating potential. The main damage had been more along the lines of the hull plating caused by the explosion, but they were tied to vital systems. Given the water damage, he was being forced to remove the cables and make certain that they were still usable before reinstalling them or else the _Gratan _would short out when they started her up.

But while Sanson provided minor assistance, he was more inclined to simply lounge about and talk. He was simply more skilled at showing off his vanity and strength then assisting in complicated repairs. His attention however was focused slightly on the claw marks left by the Batman's specialized gauntlets during their escape from the island fortress.

"Do you really believe that they're really from another Earth just like ours?"

"I'm sure of it. Personally, I'd love to see this _Javelin-7 _and Watchtower that the Princess spoke of."

"Hmm. Didn't he say they had been recently been destroyed?"

"Or something like that. But a mechanic can hope, can't he?"

"I suppose so."

Sanson decided to change the subject away from their costumed comrades.

"To be honest, I'm more concerned about Ms. Granva."

"What?"

"Well, think about it. She spent half the time gazing at both Nemo and Princess Diana."

"So? I've seen her looking at people like that before. Maybe she was just as enraptured by their tale was the rest of us."

"Old chum, it's the _way _she was starring that you and I know all too well."

Hanson nearly dropped his wrench and looked up at the ex-chauffeur, his eyes widening.

"You think she's fallen in love with Diana?"

Sanson slapped his forehead; almost falling off the dorsal hull.

"Good god man, no! I meant Nemo. Captain Nemo!"

"Oh. That actually makes a lot more sense considering what happened with Gon-"

Sanson held up his finger in a warning symbol and Hanson followed his advice. Neither of them liked to discuss what happened with that gambler and the emotional damage he had inflicted on Ms. Granva. If they ever encountered him again, Sanson was intent on giving that scoundrel a piece of his mind -- not to mention a mean right hook.

"Anyway, my point is that you remember how she can get around men she's attracted to."

"Yeah. So?"

"So, the sooner you the get the _Gratan _repaired, the sooner we can get her away from Nemo."

Hanson looked sullen at Sansons's suggestion.

"Well…"

"Well what, Hanson?"

"Well, it's just that there's so much to learn here from the science and technology of this ship."

Under normal circumstances, Sanson would normally poke slight fun at Hanson's love of technology. But not today. He went silent, thinking about his partner's statement. But the thought was less on the technological marvels of this _Nautilus _and more on one of the Bat-man. He too had never seen someone -- other than himself of course -- move that fast or hit that hard.

Perhaps each of them could indeed learn something new from the _Nautilus_.

VVV

Due to the lateness of the hour, King, Marie, and Jean had quickly fallen asleep within the comfortably heated confines of their cabin. But Nadia had not. She lay on the cot, Marie breathing at her side softly, thinking nonstop.

Jean had kept talking about this new world, about the Batman's tools and Wonder Woman -- it just went on and on. Thank gods Jean had quieted down. Nadia had never claimed to have mastered the art of the conversation, but she did have occasionally eloquent responses, usually beginning with the words, "Shut up!"

She hated many things, from technology to violence and despite the fact that he had rescued her, the incident with the _Nautilus _doctor did not work in his favor. In short, like Electra, she didn't like this Bat-man at all. Jean could, but that was fine -- for as brilliant as he could bew in the month that she had known him, he was still an idiot in her book.

As for the Princess -- well, she didn't now; she hadn't _seemed _violent, but Nadia had leaned well from her time in the circus that appearances could be deceiving.

VVV

In his mind's eyes, he saw her as clearly as if it had been yesterday. Flowing black hair as black as night, that smile that could melt his heart -- the memories went on and on.

So, he shut that thought out. His ghosts and past actions haunted him like any other man, but now they were in full swing for the first time in a long, long time. And it was not due to simply the presence of these strange visitors from another time and place. No, it was far more complicated due to an introduction made by Electra after the Bat-man had concluded his narrative.

He had been shocked silent at the introduction made by Electra after the narrative had concluded and he had ordered everyone, crewmembers and guests alike, to get some sleep. It couldn't have been, he told himself.

But it was.

He looked down at his lap, at the ancient, ornamental box that he kept locked up in his safe and removed sparingly, if at all. Contained within its cushioned interior was a large, blue gemstone, one with a missing piece that would just about match, say a necklace-sized stone.

VVV

Though the Wayne Family had been a part of Gotham City since its founding, their presence in Wayne Manor only went back a hundred and fifty years to the time of his ancestors Solomon and Joshua Wayne, who had purchases it from a Gotham-based railroad tycoon.

Why they had purchased the Manor remained somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps it had been because they intended to use the caves beneath the home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Or perhaps it had simply been an ideal spot to begin the real-estate career that had built the Wayne fortune into what it was by the time their current descendent began to utilize it for his quest.

Bruce believed in both explanations, though as a child he had favored the latter. He had grown up with the sea air and it was one of the few happy memories he had of his childhood. It was also one of the few things that brought him comfort during the darker times of his ongoing war on Gotham's crime.

That was in part why he had chosen to perform his nightly exercises on deck; it helped put him in a better state of mind as well as the fact that there was more space. As per his guidelines, all of his personally-trained protégées maintained a highly complex and vigorous workout plan in order to stay in shape for the harsher, more physical aspects of their defense of Gotham City.

Under normal circumstances, he might even be sparring with Diana -- she had proven an excellent opponent thus far, allowing him to gain insight into combat styles not seen in many, many centuries.

But not tonight.

Partly because of her injuries and partly because he needed the time to himself, he was alone here on deck, plotting out the next stage of his investigation. The narrative had gone decently, though Batman was certain that more questions would follow in the days to come. His conversation with Nemo had been an instance of _quid pro quo_.

Of course, he had no doubt that Nemo was concealing some items of information, but then again, so was he. He wasn't quite ready to trust him and the Commander of the _Nautilus _certainly wasn't either -- for example, he had withheld the Jules Verne connection; no need to bring that up yet, if at all. The shock of learning there was another world out there had been enough for one night, yet he couldn't help but wonder what Nemo would think if he learned that in the League's world, the Captain and his submarine were the products of a nineteenth-century French wr --

Gotham's Dark Knight came out of his thought process, the sound of an organ cutting into them like a batarang through air. The haunting melody was coming from the conning tower that rose out of the ship's stern. For a moment, just a brief moment, he was reminded of his father, but for what reason he couldn't quite name.

He shook it off and continued his exercises. A little more physical exertion, a few hours of sleep, and he would be ready to continue his investigations and explorations of this submarine. He had solved hundreds of cases throughout his career and though he was not prone to overconfidence, he too felt that he could and would solve the mysteries presented by this timeline.

VVV

Like Batman's training programs, the Amazon way of life was for not for the faint-hearted. Amazons trained from a young age on the art of Grecian combat, to defend themselves, and of course, the Amazonian equivalent of "Take a licking, but keep on ticking." That could also describe the reaction of the _Nautilus_' CMO to her healing, especially considering how a fall form that height would have killed any mere mortal..

Amazons were rapid healers, but it still took time to recover from injuries like the one she had sustained. Another day or two and she should be full healed. Yet, she was not prone to lying still. She _needed _to exert herself, to move her muscles. So, she had asked him wearily yet kindly for a chance to move about, if just a little bit.

Despite what had happened with Batman's interrogation -- and he had admitted that he had simply over-reacted to the potential loss of a teammate, something that the Captain had seemed to understand -- he had relented. As she moved slowly and cautiously, she thought back on what had occurred after the narrative.

Batman had asked for some privacy to speak alone with her to bring her up to speed on what happened since leFay's energies had rebounded. It was an interesting tale and she was curious about this world, just as her companion was -- but more out of interest in learning about the threat that had tried to kill them until they could receive a pick-up.

Hopefully, if Etrigan and the others hadn't been whisked way to other strange times and places, they could hopefully begun mounting a search for them ASAP. But if their encounters with the Lords and the Guild had been any indication, the multiverse was vast and uncharted.

They mighty very well have to seek out the talents of some of their Earth's other magicians, perhaps Dr. Fate or Zatanna, in order to find them. But there was nothing to do about it and so until them, it would appear that they would be involved in this fight for a while.

She enjoyed a good fight; it was simply in her nature as much as --

She stopped in her tracks as he noticed that another nocturnal presence was up and about this evening.

But it wasn't Batman.

Instead, it was the girl that he had rescued from the island, Nadia, she believed. Diana had gotten much of an impression from the children or their adult companions from the narrative in sickbay, so she didn't know what to think of her. However, she was certain that the tears streaming down her eye and autopilot-esque movements were not part of her normal behavior.

She was moving in the direction of the organ music that had been playing for the last few minutes. Diana hadn't really paid it any heed; Her attention had been focused in putting one leg in front of the other. Besides, despite her exile, she still preferred Amazonian dance and music in comparison to the horrible grating sounds and singing being marketed by jerks like Flash's sleazy ex-manager, Artie Bauman.

Unfortunately, despite the speed which she was moving, she was still faster than Diana in her present condition and Diana had to hobble on after her. By the time she had rounded the quarter, she saw that they had yet another face up and about. It was the first officer, Electra, if she once again recalled correctly. She had her hands on Nadia's shoulders, listening to Nadia speak.

"When, when I heard this music. I thought I heard my mother calling."

Electra shook her head.

"Please Nadia, wake up. Captain Nemo is the one playing that music. Now, go back to bed."

That seemed to wake Nadia out of her trance.

"Captain Nemo?"

Electra nodded.

"Yes. That hatch leads to his cabin. But no one is ever allowed to enter there. That goes for you too, " she added, noticing Diana walking slowly up the corridor.

"I wouldn't think of it."

However, Diana had a feeling that if Batman was as zealous as he was when he had questioned the _Nautilus' _doctor, then that wasn't going to matter to him. And given their present situation, with a way home not an option, that could be a bad thing. She'd have to talk to him about that in the morning.

"And just what are you doing out of sickbay?"

"You doctor gave me permission to stretch my legs. I'm not used to being bed-ridden."

After what had happened with Batman in sickbay, she clearly wasn't thrilled with the idea of _another _costumed character up and about. But she said nothing. Instead, both women were now focused on Nadia as she closed her eyes and began to cradle the blue jewel around her neck, almost as if praying to it.

Though Diana too hadn't fully mastered the art of the conversation since coming to Patriarch's World, even she knew that this was not the time to say anything. Gazing upon Nadia, she couldn't help but wonder.

Had this girl lost her mother?

Perhaps there was something that she and this Nadia did have in common after all.

VVV

_To be continued_…

VVV

As promised, Aquaman and Atlantis have finally been addressed.

The ancient Atlantis incident can be seen in the episode "The Terror Beyond".

Wayne Manor's origin in the Timm-verse has never been given, so I utilized elements of the comics history here.

Flash's time with Artie Bauman can be found in "Eclipsed".


	8. The Minefield, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story begins during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

As always, enjoy!

VVV

"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite number of parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."

-Tom Turbine, 'Legends'-

VVV

As it had had happened ever since the creation of the Solar System, the blazing orb of the sun crept once more over the edge of the horizon, the first signs of sunlight reflecting off of the _Nautilus'_ hull. Normally, this was one of Electra's favorite parts of the day; it always had been that was since she was a little girl when the sun had crept over the mountains that surrounded Old Tartessos.

But this morning, her attention was focused on her commander, on his seemingly impassive form on the main deck of their all-purpose submarine.

"You knew. You knew who she was all along."

"Yes."

She had known this conversation was going to happen the moment they had left sickbay after the narrative of the costumed guests had concluded and he had set his eyes on the girl. After she had escorted Nadia and Diana from the vicinity of the Captain's quarters, she hd barely been able to sleep, trying to prepare for this.

"Hmm. I see."

She chose her next words carefully.

" I also know that this matter is none of my affair, Captain."

Nemo remained silent for a long moment before nodding slowly.

"That's correct. You may go."

"Aye."

He continued to stare out at the rising sun long after his first officer had headed for the bridge to check on the repair status of the _Nautilus_.

VVV

As nutritionists had long remarked, breakfast was the most important meal of the day. For the Dark Knight that was, well, not exactly a foreign concept. He had something resembling it each and every morning after roughly three hours after coming in from his patrols of Gotham City. He had, if a case needed his every waking moment, opted for efficiency in the form of ready-made instant meals. Alfred Pennyworth, ever the culinary artist, had not been amused by such a prospect, but respected the wishes of his employer.

Presently, however, he was sharing that rare breakfast with his only other familiar companion currently in this reality, Diana of Themyscira. Unlike Diana, Batman was still clothed in his costume. Diana was in the process of speaking to him about it.

"You know, you could take that off."

Batman just glared at her.

"Alright. I'm just saying Br- Batman that we're going to have to establish some kind of level of trust with this crew until we can get picked-up."

"Hmm."

"Hmm, what?"

"Diana, we have an number of issues to deal with involving this ship and her Captain. The biggest priority is that I'm going to need access to some kind of foundry or workshop."

"Why?"

He held up the latest generation of his utility belt, the compartment flaps unlocked to reveal the crime-fighting arsenal contained within.

"I used up about a quarter of my arsenal when we fought Le Fay and later when we escaped from the island. If we're going to be drawn into this war, I'm going to need to replenish and modify what I --"

Batman trailed off as the sickbay door open. Instinctively, he reached for a batarang from the open compartment, drawing a look of annoyance from Diana."

"Oh, will you stop it? These people are _not _dangerous."

Considering that he had seen the Captain of this vessel ram his submarine through a _Garfish_-class submarine like a hot knife through butter less than forty-eight hours earlier, Batman would have easily countered such a statement if his attention had not been divided -- a rarity in his life -- by the guest arriving through the doors.

It was Jean Coq Raltique, but not in the bright, chipper mood that he had had when Batman had first spotted him in the bushes of the island. He wished he could have said something to put the boy at ease. That was more of Clark's strength than his.

"Jean?"

"Captain Nemo's ordered Nadia and I to change quarters. Grandis is to move in with her and I'm supposed to be with Hanson and Sanson."

"Why?"

This came from Diana, not Batman -- who was tempted to shut out the conversation and instead focus on finding a way to replenish his arsenal, but the detective in him wanted to hear this out.

"She -- Ms. Electra -- said something about living together not being proper."

"And that's what's troubling you," asked Diana. Jean shook his head.

"Yes and no. Well, then I looked at Nadia and she, she just got all made for no reason. I mean, I know she's moody, but I'm just not used to it."

Considering what he had been put through when he had made the decisions to raise and train both Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, Batman had a rather good idea as to _where _on Nadia's person Jean had been looking at, but he said nothing. Either way, this situation sounded to him like a typical late nineteenth-century, Victorian attitude.

"Oh," he added, "Electra said that also applies to both of you, too."

Batman and Diana starred at each other. Diana went slightly red, but began laughing softly at the expression on Batman's face. Jean looked confused.

"What is it?"

"It'd nothing Jean," she said, ignoring the second helping of The Glare that the Dark Knight was giving her this morning.

"Well, I'd better go find Hanson and Sanson."

As he headed out, Diana couldn't help but smile again at her less-than-amused companion.

VVV

Within the sanctum of the bridge, the Sonar Officer, one Echo, frowned at what his displays were recording.

"Captain Nemo?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm detecting an airborne object approaching from the stern."

"Distance?"

"Twelve kilometers and closing fast, sir. Approximately twenty-seven knots, headed in a northeasterly route . It could be Gargoyle's airship."

Electra shook her head in puzzlement.

"But why would he come back in this direction?"

Nemo considered this for a moment, trying to understand Gargoyle as he knew him. The island fortress had been destroyed from the Tower of Babel's explosion, it's facilities burned to ash along with the tower and the _Garfish_. With the time it had taken to repair the _Nautilus_, he should have been long gone, headed for one of his many auxiliary compounds.

So Electra was correct: Why was he coming back in the direction of the _Nautilus_?

"He has his own reasons," he said at last.

VVV

Like the Dark Knight's first squire -- though she had no way of knowing that -- Nadia had grown up in the circus and though used to the cramped, confining aspects of traveling, she was more comfortable within the large, open space of the tent and the center ring.

So, she, Marie, and King had come on deck just as the _Nautilus _mighty engines had started up, propelling the vessel across the sparkling water. The trio had given one last look to the dying embers of the inferno that had consumed the Neo-Atlatean fortress. Marie had waved and called out good-bye to her mother and father, both taken from this life by Gargoyle's foot soldiers shortly before Jean's plane had been shot down over the island.

While she felt for Marie's loss, however, her mind was elsewhere.

Maybe it was simply that even though she had apologized for their month-long pursuit, she wasn't quite ready to trust Grandis Granva. Maybe it was Jean's horrible act in their quarters that had stirred anew the arguments between them. Maybe it was even the arrival of a second costumed figure in addition to that violent Bat-man, one that had shown what appeared to be genuine concern for Nadia during the incident with the organ playing last night -- and the unexplained memories of her mother that that had brought out.

Or maybe it was all three of these; she wasn't too certain. She sighed, catching the little girl's attention.

"What's wrong, Nadia?"

"I don't know Marie. I guess it's just that so much has happened in the last few days."

"Oh," replied Marie, not fully comprehending what Nadia was trying to say -- which wasn't surprising since she was only six years of age -- but she wanted to try to cheer up her new friend. But Nadia had slipped back into her thoughts and so Marie began to play with King.

VVV

"It's within visual range," announced Echo.

"Shall we track it?" Electra asked. Nemo considered his options for a moment.

"First Helsman, bring her about one hundred and eighty degrees. Prepare for rapid submersion."

"Aye sir."

VVV

_"All hands, prepare to dive_,_" _boomed Electra's voice from the ship wide intercom.

Batman gazed up as the alarms began sounding throughout the submarine, his interest piqued and instinctive battle-ready protocols going into affect. Diana of course, noticed the change and though still tired and aching from her healing injuries, had to make a point.

"Before you get up, please don't do anything stupid. We need to build trust with them, Batman."

He said nothing, causing the Amazon to sigh.

"Alright, go. I won't stop you."

He leaned in, a smirk on his face.

"You're not in any position to do so."

For that comment, she gave him the Amazonian equivalent of his Glare, but by the time her faced had formed the expression, the Dark Knight had performed his customary, twelve year running vanishing act and was gone.

"Men," she muttered.

VVV

Nadia, Marie, and King were all so immersed in the sight of the strange craft approaching the stern of the _Nautilus _that they almost didn't hear the _Nautilus _crewmember throw open the main hatch.

"Didn't you hear the call? The ship's about to dive. Do you three want to drown?!"

Nadia shook her head.

"No. Come on Marie; we'd better hurry."

VVV

"Tanks are viable. Pressure normal. All systems are go," announced Electra as the red lights on her display panel switched to green, indicating that the _Nautilus_ was now once again beneath the waves.

"Dive angle at twenty-five degrees. Depth is thirty meters," noted the helmsman.

"Return ship to level position. Maintain minimum speed."

"Aye.

The _Nautilus_' master and commander then turned to the sonar station.

"Deploy detector unit," ordered Nemo.

VVV

Atop the aft conning tower and behind Nemo's quarters, hull plates swished open to reveal a buoy-type object that quickly ascended to the surface, bursting atop the waves and activating, linked to the _Nautilus _by a single, heavily protected cable.

VVV

"We have attained visual contact," announced the operations officer from the forward station.

The viewing portal flicked to life, displaying the readouts presently coming through the detector unit. Their target was in plain sight, the _Calcharodon _quickly moving closer and closer towards --

"That's the sky over the Le Mer Staraits, sir. This poses a problem Captain; the reefs there will be impenetrable for the ship."

"Sir," Echo said suddenly, "the Airship is increasing her speed. We're falling behind, sir."

"Captain, what are your orders?"

Nemo was silent, again weighing his options.

"If we go around them, then we'll lose Gargoyle. Use the undersea passage, First Helmsman."

"Aye-Aye."

VVV

"Oh, hello there."

Still confined to bed -- though her injuries were close to healing that she would likely be able to move without the level of difficulty she had faced last night -- Diana had been studying her costume, inspecting it for any damage it might have sustained during her fall from the heavens. There wasn't even a scratch or discoloring. Hesphaestus had done his job well.

And so, she had been absorbed in the inspection when the

The lion cub sniffed her hand cautiously for a moment and then began rubbing his head against it, clearly liking Diana. She in turn had always liked animals, both during her childhood and after she had left Themyscira to fight the alien Imperium. In fact, before Jason Blood had come to Wayne Manor's doorstop, she had been meaning to ask Kal for a visit to the alien zoo he kept in his Antarctic Fortress as a means of coping with Shayera Hol's betrayal of the League.

A moment later, Nadia and Marie ran through the door, startled to see King and the Amazon princess reacting so well. King rubbed his head once more against Diana's hand and then walked towards Nadia,

"King got frightened when we dove. We've chased him halfway across the ship."

"He's been fine. I've always liked animals, especially cats."

Despite this, there was a brief awkward silence between them for a moment, Diana taking it upon

"Your friend Jean was looking for you earlier. He was pretty upset at having gotten you angry."

What appeared to be a slight look of disgust and annoyance flashed across Nadia's face for a brief moment at the mention of Jean. Bur she said nothing, instead realizing the absence of another individual.

"Hey, where's _your _friend?"

Diana sighed wearily.

"Up and about. He's not one to stay still at a time like this. And neither am I if these were normal circumstances," she groaned as she shifted position, her few remaining aches and pains plaguing her.

"I'm somewhat amazed that you're alright. The kind of fall that the doctor described would have killed me or anyone else.

Diana smiled.

"I'm an Amazon. Rapid healing is part of who we are."

"Oh."

Nadia's gaze then turned towards Diana's garments.

"What about this armor? Is that a typical Amazonian garb?"

Diana shook her head.

"No, that was gift from Athena, a indicator of my position as Princess of Themyscira."

Marie was playing with King and so hadn't caught the meaning of Diana's simple statement. Nadia on the other hand had, her eyes widening in disbelief and curiosity. She may have grown up in the circus, but she had learned a few things during the company' tour of Greece.

"Athena? As in the Greek _goddess_ Athenea?!"

But before Diana could indeed acknowledge for the African circus performer her relationship with the Olympians, they were suddenly all thrown across the sickbay as the _Nautilus_' engines shut down without warning.

VVV

The situation on the bridge tensed as the _Nautilus _barely came to a stop in time, the forward hull nearly contacting with the metallic objects blocking their path at the end of the passage beneath the Straits, objects that Echo hadn't spotted until it had almost been too late.

"What are those?"

"Mechanical mines," replied a wearied Nemo.

"He laid a trap for us," commented Electra, her anger rising once again towards the self-proclaimed leader of Neo-Atlantis and the cunning he had so often exhibited in their ongoing war.

"Hmm. Now, put her into full-reverse. Straight rudder."

"Aye, full reverse," repeated the helmsman as he pulled back on the _Nautilus_' steering apparatus.

VVV

Jena had been preparing to head out with Sanson and Hanson when the order to dive began. They had remained still and quiet until the Nautilus had shut down her engines in order to avoid the mines. Now, they were confused once again as the motions of the ship indicated reversal of the engines.

"Now what are they doing," Sanson wondered aloud. Grandis, however, had a worried look upon her face.

"I have a very bad feeling about this, boys" Grandis said quietly and nervously.

VVV

Two decks above Grandis' quarters, Batman shared a similar sentiment. He had parked himself in the shadows surrounding the corridor leading to the bridge. A simple placement upon the bridge door of one of his many technological gadgets and he had been kept informed of everything that had transpired since the ship had dived beneath the waves. He knew that this was a delicate operation and had no wish to endanger them all by interrupting the bridge's activity ;even he wasn't _that _foolish.

However, he didn't like this at all. There was something about this stratagem that seemed odd to a strategist such as himself. Why lead them through only _one _minefield? If this Gargoyle had been as intelligent as he had perceived him during the assault on the castle and if Batman had been in plotting out this plan, then he would have placed mines…

…

Oh no.

VVV

"Lord Gargoyle, we have finished deploying all of the mines."

The _Calcharodon _was maintaining position above the Straits, but had doubled back to the opening as soon as the _Nautilus _had proceeded through. Ripples continue to spread outward from where the airship had deployed its stock of experimental mines, developed primarily to take down cargo ships, but also for use against Nemo and the _Nautilus_

From the front, plus cabin of the airship, the Neo-Atlantean Lord nodded to his aide, a smile forming beneath the elaborate, ornate Atlantean mask.

"Good. I hope they were surprised by my gift. Receive it with an open heart, and perish, my dear friends."

VVV

They had almost completely cleared the undersea passage when the bridge's aft hatch -- the one leading into the ship, not the outer hull -- flew open, revealing Gotham's Defender. Electra was les than thrilled to be gazing into the eyes of the Dark Knight, especially considering the situation.

"What are you dong here?! Civilians are not allowed on the bridge during battle!"

Batman paid her no heed, instead focusing on the chair of command and is occupants.

"Stop the ship. He's laid another trap."

Before Electra could respond, Echo suddenly wheeled around

"He's right! I'm detecting mines from our stern, captain!"

Nemo wasted not time.

"Emergency stop. Power to bow!"

"Full stop! Full Power to Bow," yelled the Chief Engineer into the intercom on his panel that connected to Main Engineering and the ship's particle-annihilation engine. As before, crewmembers, boy inventors, "reformed" criminals, and Amazonian warriors were thrown about the _Nautilus_ came to a screeching, sudden halt.

The crewmembers aboard the bridge slowly raised themselves back up into their chairs. Captain Nemo, however was looking at the Dark Knight.

"How did you know?"

"It's what I would have done if I had been in your enemy's position, " Batman explained.

Nemo nodded at the explanation provided by Gotham's champion, then turned his attention back to his senior staff.

"Report."

"We're blocked in. All exit routes are completely impassable."

"And our diving suits can't withstand the pressure at a depth this great," continued Electra.

The chief engineer nodded in response to Elecrta's statement, knowing quite well the strengths and weaknesses of their equipment; it was his job, after all.

"That's correct. And the space is too small for the work pod to deploy."

"We could push them back with our jet-propulsion," suggested the helmsman. _Interesting_, noted the Batman, filing away this statement for future examination

"But the sudden pressure might only serve to detonate them."

Nemo sighed in complete frustration at the predicament they faced, that he had gotten them into.

VVV

"He has us."

VVV

_To be continued_…

VVV

Since Batman had already demonstrated his talents during the assault on the island and in the escape from his quarters aboard the Nautilus, readers have asked if Diana would get a similar chance to show off her abilities to Nemo and his crew. This chapter is meant to set up that opportunity, the payoff coming in the next installment.

Echo, Electra, and Nemo are the only members of the Nautilus' senior staff that were given names during the series. I know it's awkward, but I'm reluctant to create names for them -- at least for now.

Hesphaestus was revealed as having forged Diana's costume in "Hawk and Dove".

Despite "Hawk and Dove", there's never been a clear explanation for the origin of Diana's costume, specifically in regards to "Secret Origins" where the Amazons didn't give chase after she borrowed it from Athena's Temple. I'm therefore going with the theory poised by the Justice League Watchtower website, that it was a gift from Athena that she had every right to.

Just to clear up any possible confusion, the Nautilus' diving suits can function past the depth of 30 meters. Although I didn't mention it, the undersea passage was at a depth of about three-hundred meters.


	9. The Minefield, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story begins during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

Author's Notes: I apologize for the delay for the conclusion of the Minefield incident; my computer's Power Supply Unit (PSU) died earlier this week and so I was without my computer for several days. I thank you guys as always for your continued patience regarding the project.

So, without any further adieu, enjoy!

VVV

"I have long hypothesized that there are an infinite numberof parallel dimensions, each containing its own planet Earth. Each Earth occupies the same location in space, but vibrates at a different speed."

-- Tom Turbine, "Legends" --

VVV

To those that knew him well on both sides of the ongoing conflict, Lord Gargoyle could be classified as the type of person who preferred to see things through from start to finish. The fate of the _Nautilus _was one such instance where he would have wanted a ring-side seat. But he had business elsewhere; bringing the world under Atlantean control for the first time in millennia was not a task for the faint-hearted, after all.

And so, the _Calcharodon _was making good speed away from the LeMerr Straits, away from the prototype minefield and with it, the trapped _Nautilus_. He was in his private cabin, still seated in a comfortable chair. The Lord was overlooking what was but a fraction of what would soon be Atlantis' once again. His aide was behind him, pouring into a tektite goblet a fine vintage from his personal stores, one that he had been saving for a special occasion.

"You seem to be in good spirits, Lord Gargoyle," she noted aloud as she placed the cup by his side. He nodded in response to her query.

"Yes, I do enjoy a good chess match. I imagine he will be receiving my message within moments."

VVV

Aboard the _Nautilus_, Gargoyle was often the recipient of many a cursing in the many languages spoken aboard Nemo's all-purpose submarine. Today was no exception to that. He had once again proven his cleverness not only in laying his trap, but in the choice of location. The LeMerr Straits, you must understand, were not known on either Earth for docile waters.

As a result, the undersea current was beginning to shift towards them, pushing them back through the entrance. The changing pressure at their depth had ended up detonating one of the mines near the stern, causing only minimal damage, but rocking the crew back and forth once again. This was the situation that the bridge staff was faced with as the shockwaves from the detonation resided..

"That accursed fiend," muttered Nemo as his chair stopped shaking.

Before anyone else could agree with his accurate statement on their sworn enemy, something unusual happened. On the forward monitor, a light fixture atop one of the mines suddenly began flashing and beeping in a systematic pattern. From her station, Electra gasped.

"It's sending us Morse code!"

"Read it," ordered Nemo.

"Aye."

Electra opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Or rather, a voice did speak, but it was not hers.

It was instead Batman.

"To my dear friends aboard the _Nautilus_, I hope you are enjoying the bounty of my technological genius. I apologize for delivering these mines to you without knowing if they will remain stable. I'm sure you are honored to be the proving ground for them, however. The current shall reverse in three hours and ten minutes. Perhaps that will give your time to remove them from your path; let's hope so. A word of advice, dear friends -- the mines are designed to detonate on contact or with the slightest pressure or magnetic field alteration. As always, you are in my prayers."

Everyone, Electra included, was shocked silent at the Batman's natural decoding of the message for a long moment. It wasn't exactly a superhuman feat. No, it was one of the earliest lessons he had learned on his world-wide sojourn and he heard the words forming in his mind before Electra read them off.

Well that and perhaps the look on Electra's face was worth it.

Nemo, however, was interested more in the content than yet another demonstration of Batman's abilities and so he shook his head in disgust at Gargoyle's words.

"We're his guinea pigs."

Electra nodded in agreement, recovering her normal behavior in light of Batman's stealing the spotlight.

"The enormity of his wickedness knows no bounds."

That's an understatement, thought Batman. Definite signs of megalomania, alright. In any event, it wasn't anything he hadn't already heard from would-be world conquerors, from Grant Walker and his insane Oceana plot to Vandal Savage and his usage of an orbital-based rail-gun earlier that year.

Based on the now two encounters he had had with the Neo-Atlantean lord. He had thus far concluded that Gargoyle was either insane, deluded, or absolutely brilliant. The cunningness of this trap easily fulfilled the brilliance matter. As for the insane and deluded, he was certain of the latter, but not quite the former now thanks to this little speech.

In any event, this analysis would have to wait until later. For the moment, he wasn't prepared just yet to call this a no-win scenario. He just needed time to think about how they could get the hell out of this one.

VVV

"That is the present status of the vessel. If there is a means of escape, it has not presented itself to us thus far. Should anyone have a new idea, report to the bridge without delay. That is all"

The occupants of Grandis' quarters were silent as Nemo's announcement came in over the intercom. Jean was the first to react.

"This is terrible!"

Sanson raised an eyebrow.

"I think that's fairly obvious." He straightened his tie before continuing. "We need to think more deeply to solve this problem. Well, Hanson?"

Sanson's otherpartner in crime was deep in thought, options and data going though his head.

"Well, it's difficult. Any little disturbance can detonate the mines."

Both he and Jean resumed their meditative stances, trying to think of a way out of their predicament, their meditation shattered by a cry of excitement from Grandis.

"I've got it! The _Catherine_!"

VVV

From his chair of command, Nemo starred at Grandis.

"You think that if your tank were made airtight, it could manually remove the mines?"

She nodded eagerly.

"And your willing to do this yourself," said Batman, continuing Nemo's line of questioning. Nemo had allowed the Dark Knight to remain on the bridge as a courtesy for having spotted Gargoyle's trap and his decoding of the message. Electra wasn't happy with her Captain's decision, but there was nothing that could be done and so continued her task at hand.

"Don't you worry about --"

"Now hold on a second!"

Everyone looked back at Hanson, an angry expression upon his chubby face.

"I built the _Gratan _with my own hands. So wherever it goes, I'm going togo too. Right?"

His question was directed at Sanson, the ex-chauffer leaning against the bridge's railing and smiling.

"That's right. And I'll go with you. Unless…"

"Unless what," Hanson asked in a slightly suspicious tone. He had known Sanson for many years and he was like a brother to him. He trusted the former chauffeur with his life and for him to refuse to such a mission where _all _of their lives were in danger…

Thankfully, however, Sanson's next statement explained his hesitation

"Unless our pointy-eared friend here has a better plan. What about backup from Ms. Diana?"

Batman shook his head.

"Diana's in no shape to mount this kind of operation. Even is she were, it's a moot point. While Amazonian bodies can withstand greater pressure and environments than your average human, they are still dependent upon oxygen. I've seen Diana hold her breath for long occasions, but this would take too long. And like this ship's diving equipment, my personal rebreathers aren't designed to function at a depth this great. If I had the more advanced League-issue variants, perhaps. But they were on board the Bat-plane when it was shot it down."

He wasn't exaggerating at all. Diana was not in peak-performance mode and even though she had angrily claimed that she could do it, her body hadn't agreed with her and she had collapsed back into the sickbay bed. Nadia had in part scolded her, causing a series of mutterings in Greek from the Amazon princess was in no shape to make good on towards Nadia.

"So you're fine with this plan, then?"

"No, I'm not. You realize that you both could get killed out there."

The duo of ex-thieves nodded.

"But I'm a sorcerer when it comes to operating the _Gratan_'s forearms," explained Hanson.

"And piloting the _Catherine _is my job. We can do it," continued Sanson.

Batman sighed. He didn't want anyone on board this ship, strangers or not, to die here today and if it was up to him, he would be the one in the _Gratan_. But he had little to no idea of how to operated the confrontation and had to concede that despite his own talents, the ex-thieves were best suited to the job at hand.

"All right, then."

It was at this point that Jean chose to speak.

"And I'm coming with you. You'll need my help, right?"

"No, Jean," Batman stated in a low, quiet tone.

"He's right. This is a mission for mature adults You stay here and take care of your girlfriend," continued Sanson. Jean just moaned silently as the Grandis Gang headed out, but inside, he wasn't prepared to concede defeat that quickly.

VVV

Two hours later, Sanson tried to ignore the still tingling nerves in his right hand as the _Nautilus _technicians finished sealing the final piece of hull plating onto the _Gratan_, scrambling out of the way as the technicians in the control room began filling the chamber with water.

While he was willing to help those who were also fighting against the Neo-Atlantean jackasses that had imprisoned them, he knew that this was likely a suicide mission and his first loyalty was to Ms. Granva and her safety. That was why he had punched in the stomach, knocking her unconscious, and had left her back in her cabin.

Hanson had complained at all. In fact, he had been wondering whether or not Sanson was going to do it or if he, despite his limited combat skills, would have to.

"She'll understand, Hanson," Sanson said softly.

"I hope so, old chap."

There was a long silence, marked only by the sound of water rushing up against the sides of the _Gratan_. With the sealing of the craft deemed a success, the quartermaster had begun flooding the interior of the hanger in preparation for the _Catherine's _departure. Hanson began played his dials like a fine piano player playing his instrument as Hanson began pulling back on the steering mechanism.

"All right, let's do it."

VVV

"Time until the reversal of the current?"

"Twenty-one minutes, Captain."

Batman and Captain Nemo both shared grimaces. If they were going to do this, it had to be now. With that thought in mind, Nemo tapped the console to the side of his command chair. An old fashioned, nineteenth century-style microphone raised itself from the panel.

"This is Captain Nemo to the _Catherine_. Do you read me?"

There was silence and static for a moment. Then --

"Loud and clear, Captain sir. The undersea telephone is working perfectly."

Nemo frowned, not at the statement but at the fact that is was pilot answering.

"What happened to Grandis?"

"Oh, I guess we forgot to bring her with us."

United in that one moment, Electa, the Captain, and the Dark Knight all looked at each other. Nemo considered this for a moment.

"Hmm. I see. That's good."

The brief flash of a smile, however, quickly vanished.

"Four mines block our route. We only have twenty minutes before the current changes. You must hurry."

"Aye-aye, sir!"

VVV

Hanson had not been exaggerating when he had confidently stated on the bridge that he was sorcerer with the _Gratan_'s arms. With great delicacy and form, the first of the four mines had been lifted out of the path of the stern and he had cackled with delight, though their task was far from done; they had throw it out of the way before continuing.

Sanson, however, was frowning as he gunned the _Gratan's_ foot petal, the sound of protesting gears filling the cockpit.

"The engine is gasping. Try to open the air cylinder a bit, Hanson."

The mechanic gritted his teeth as he pulled at the levers that operated the _Gratan_'s arms.

"You may have noticed that my hands are a bit full right now!"

Suddenly, the engine's sound stabilized without warning.

"I took care of it. What that enough?" asked a voice from behind them.

"Perfect."

Then Sanson's eyed widened as he and Hanson looked back into the couch that served as the _Gratan_'s own chair of command. Under normal circumstances, both might have thought that a certain Dark Knight had snuck aboard their craft. But from the pitch of the voice, it could only be -- and was -- one person.

It was Jean.

VVV

Though Gotham's champion was not the type of person who regularly used profanity, it was very tempting to do so in this instance. And though they wouldn't say it aloud, Electra and Captain Nemo would have gladly joined him in such a task.

He had forbidden the aspiring French inventor to go on this mission for a simple reason. Dick and Tim had been one thing because he had put them through his own training regimens. But Jean was thinker, not a fighter. He was not trained for this.

"We need to bring him back," yelled Hanson over the line. Batman in turn glanced at the timer and sighed.

"There's no time. Resume the dismantling of the minefield."

VVV

At Diana's request, sickbay's line to the bridge had been activated a few moments earlier. She had been drifiting in and out her consciousness, despite her will, and so, she, Nadia, Marie, and King were now listening into the real-time comminque from the operation outside.

"This is the Catherine _to the Nautilus_. _We have recruited another --" _

"What are you speaking into? Where's the transmitter?"

"Hey, wait, don't…"

Catherine . 

The scuffle continued for another few seconds on the other line. Dian and Nadia frowneds, trying to make out the voice, at least until…

"Testing, testing. This is Jean!"

Nadia's eyes widened.

"Nadia, are you there? Nadia, I'll be back before you know it. But let's not fight anymore."

"Jean," she said softly, a look of fear and disbelief on her face for her young friend.

"He's just as bad as Batman," muttered Diana. But Nadia and the others was so engrossed by the conversation that Diana alone heard the beeping of the League communicator still placed in her ear.

"Yes?"

"Diana, listen carefully."

VVV

Despite Jean's presence, the operation had continued, with the young French boy now regulating the pipes and dials that Hanson and Sanson were unable to reach due to their ongoing tasks. In that regard, it had been a welcome relief and they had now taken care of half of the necessary mines.

However, though the _Gratan _had been outfitted with air tanks and equipment from the _Nautilus_, the fact remained that she had been built by late nineteenth century science and that that technology was not meant to operate at a depth as great as the LeMerr Straits. Leaks were already appearing in the hull, despite the welding done by the submarine's tech crew. But they had no choice but to continue in their mission, otherwise they would all die,.

But as they went for the final mine, two things happened at once. The undersea camera that had been fitted in place of the _Gratan_'s viewing portals suddenly shut down, the camera giving out to the undersea pressure. Then, just as if things couldn't get any worse, a familiar, raging voice came over the still-function undersea telephone.

"Just what do you two think you're doing!?"

VVV

Just as Jean had come aboard the _Gratan, _the bridge of the _Nautilus _had now gained the presence of the Grandis Granva and Nadia, the former chewing out her associates and the latter begging Jean for forgiveness. She blamed herself for Jean having snuck aboard the gang's craft.

Not likely, Batman thought. If his visit to the bridge and wandering on the island when the Tower of Babel had been fired, Jean would have gone even if he and Nadia had been on good terms. He was very much like Dick Grayson at that age -- and Tim Drake, to a certain extent, though his memories of the second Robin were too recent in his mind -- in that regard of blowing off their elders from time to time.

But now was not the time for such brooding. With the implosion of the camera, the _Gratan_'s crew had no way of navigating and therefore were relying on Grandis' instruction. As she continued to slowly give directions and movements -- a number of which were unnecessary in his professional opinion -- Batman watched silently.

"Sir, the current has stopped. It will reverse itself momentarily," the sensor operator reported. Batman frowned. If the _Gratan_ couldn't get the last mine out of the way in the next minute, then he was going to initiate his backup plan, risk or no risk.

"Are you in position," he whispered.

"I'm ready when you say so."

"Standby."

He thought about what Diana had told him earlier that morning, about having to build trust and faith with these people until they could find a way to return to their world. He would enact his backup plan if necessary. But for now, he had to have trust and faith in the _Gratan _and its crew.

VVV

Hanson cursed under his breath as the pressure that had destroyed the undersea camera now worked its magic on the _Gratan_'s left grappling arm, crushing it."

"We've lost pressure," cried Jean from the rear wall of piping.

"Shut off the red valve," yelled Hanson in response.

"Right!"

With a simple adjustment, the left arm was jettisoned, the right arm now being forced to pick up the slack. With careful maneuvering, it hooked onto the tether of the fourth and final mine.

VVV

Grandis sighed with relief, but just barely.

"You've got it. You've got the last one. Don't let go. Keep her straight and move quickly."

"We've got it!"

From the forward area, Echo looked up from his instruments and the bridge's clock and then back at Nemo 

"We're almost out of time, sir."

"Full speed astern," ordered the Captain. The helmsman pulled back on the steering apparatus, the great submarine's forward thrusters propelling the _Nautilus _back slowly out of the undersea passage.

"Another thirty meters and she's clear," he reported.

Nobody was quite ready to join Grandis' earlier sigh of relief, even if it was only a partial one, the Batman included. In his experience, it was when the situation seemed to be in the clear that, as the expression on the mean streets of Gotham City went, the shit suddenly hit the fan.

And so, he couldn't claim to be too surprised when the _Gratan_, rising twenty meters above them, suddenly began rocking, its engines exploding. The undersea pressure had finally taken its toll and the _Gratan, _with the final mine still in hand, began to fall back towards the retreating _Nautilus_.

"The _Catherine _is coming right towards us, Captain! It's on a collision course," yelled Echo.

"What are you waiting for!? Let go of that mine! " Grandis screamed into the transmitter. The _Gratan _drifted closer and closer to the bridge, no response coming in on the radio.

"All hands brace for impact!" Nemo ordered as he held onto his chair of command. Grandis leaned in towards the microphone, the fear palpable upon her sweating face at the lack of response from the tank.

"Sanson! Hanson!"

At that moment, Nadia pushed her aside and began yelling into the minefield, fear also spreading across his youthful features.

"Jean, please answer me!"

The girl shouldn't be here, shouldn't have to hear this, Batman thought angrily. That was of course his personal quest, to prevent people from having to experience anything this. But it was hard to shove her out of the bridge was shaking as the _Gratan _touched down atop the command deck. On the forward viewer, however, they could see that the mine had been released at the last moment and was spinning off into the distance. Nemo wasted no time whatsoever.

"Engines to full speed! Vertical ascension!"

VVV

As the _Nautilus _rose, the _Gratan _was quickly thrown back towards the stern by the current. But she was saved by the ingenuity of those piloting the craft. Jeasn, almost by instinct, pushed forward the level that operated the forward cylinders.The _Gratan'_s cylinders expanded and caught onto the submarine, anchoring them onto the rapidly ascending submarine.

But this quickly changed.

The mine that the team had released moments earlier had spun back in the direction of the grotto, contacting with the undersea rock formation and detonating. The detonation in turn set off the other mines and the shockwave shook the custom-built craft off of the Nautilus' port wing and it went flying back into the depths.

On the bridge, both Nadia and Grandis screamed out the names of the male counterparts, but there was nothing that could be done. The wash from the _Nautilus_' engines would only push them farther down if they went after them. In short, everyone was forced to silence at the fact that they would live at the cost of three young lives, three more casualties in the war against Gargoyle.

In fact, the bridge crew was so silent, even over the blare of alarms, that everyone became startled at the Batman placed two of his fingers upon his cowl, specifically his ear, and yelled, "Go Diana!"

VVV

For rather obvious reasons, the_ Nautilus _had been built to be airtight for its missions beneath the waves. The bulkheads, like an unfortunate _Olympic_-class ship of the White Star Line twenty-three years later on another world, were designed to be self-sealing and water-tight in the event of a hull breach.

In addition to those measures, a reinforced space-titanium alloy graced the outer hull of the ship. The plates were designed to be shielded against underwater pressure and phenomena as well as explosives, both conventional and of the advanced variety favored by the Neo-Atlantean navy.

The designers of the _Nautilus_ however hadn't anticipated, at the direction of a urban-based vigilante, that a six-foot, determined Amazon princess might punch through one of the outer-airlocks during a rapid ascent to the surface and leap outwards through the waters in a downward trajectory towards the bottom of the ocean.

VVV

The _Nautilus_ had barely surfaced as the bridge's aft hatch burst open, Batman leaping down off the railing onto the main deck, his cape flapping in the breeze. Behind him, the bridge crew slowly shuffled out, Electra leading the charge.

"Just what in the hell do you think you're --"

She quickly shut up when she once again received slight of The Glare that had terrorized the underworld of Gotham City for twelve years running. His attention was focused on the swirling waters of the Straits, searching for the slightest --

There.

Without any warning -- at least to the untrained eyes of the _Nautilus _crew, something that the Dark Knight could once again not help but feel a hint of pride in -- the waves erupted, revealing the battered, but otherwise intact form of the _Gratan. _And to the amazement of the crew of the _Nautilus _who lived in a world without metahumans or galactic police agencies, the craft was being carried by Wonder Woman.

"Hera, give me strength!"

While her strength wasn't on the level that it was more the League's most visible member, the Kryptonian survivor turned-reporter/superhero, the Greek Goddess had blessed Hippolyta's daughter well. Still, in the shape she was in, it was a far greater burden than usual and came close to dropping the _Gratan _back into the water.

As Diana set the craft down on the forward deck, Batman went to work, his utility belt laser cutting into the sealed hull as quickly as his steady hands allowed him. He was through in a moment and the outer hatch went flying through the air, Diana catching it -- and crushing it -- with one hand.

With a grunt, he pulled Jean Coq de Raltique out of the craft. The boy inventor was soaked to the bone and coughing up a bit of seawater, but was otherwise fine. He looked up at the Dark Knight and smiled.

"Heh. Looks like you rescued me this time."

VVV

Half an hour later, Sanson and Hanson, Jean, and Diana were all laying on the deck, their backs to the bridge's exterior, soaking up the sun and watching as the _Nautilus' _cranes began maneuver the damaged _Gratan _back towards the hanger. Technicians were working on the bow and stern, repairing damage caused by the mine's detonation as well as the smashed airlock. If she hadn't been coordinating the repairs alongside of her captain, Electra would have presently been reading the Dark Knight the sixth degree for the damage his backup plan had caused.

Instead, it had been Nadia and Grandis who had both yelled at their companions before breaking down and hugging them. In those moments, they had also thanked Diana for saving their boys. As for the Amazon, her own dark companion was atop the bridge itself, looking down at Jean and chewing him out for sneaking aboard the _Gratan_. Diana was too tired to verbally rebut him.

"So tell me Jean, what did you learn from all of this," Batman asked in a tone that his associates knew all too well. The boy looked up at the Dark Knight.

"That I really _hate _mines!"

Everyone on the main deck just starred at the young French inventor. And then Hanson and Sanson began chuckling softly, erupting into full blown laughter. And it was like a narcotic, because soon several of the crewmembers began laughing. Diana too was shaking her head and smiling and despite the scowl, Batman's face betrayed a hint of a smile as a result of Jean's statement.

More and more like Dick Grayson indeed.

VVV

_To be continued…_

VVV

I think that Diana and Batman have fully proven their worth to Nemo's cause, wouldn't you agree? The next chapter will deal with the reactions of Nemo and his senior staff to the witnessing of the Dark Knight and the Amazing Amazon's talents.

Grant Walker's Oceana project can be found in the BTAS episode "Deep Freeze".

The encounter with Savage and the rail gun occurred in the second season episode "Maid of Honor".

The _Olympic-_class ship is of course the infamous liner _R.M.S. Titanic_. Again, since naval history is a major interest of mine, you'll have little references like this popping up form time to time in this story, given of course that we are witnessing the adventures of an all-purpose submarine, after all.


	10. Decisions and Discoveries

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "Starcrossed_"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story is set during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

Author's Notes: I'd like to take this time to apologize for the delays in getting the next installment of the project out over the last two months. The Holiday season has a way of screwing with me and computer-related issues have not helped either. I thank you for your continued interest, patience, and support of the project. So, without further adieu, enjoy!

VVV

Though the waters of the LeMerr Straits were not known for their docility -- as the crew of the _Nautilus_ had almost learned to their peril -- there were those occasional days when the sea was as tranquil as could be. The all-purpose submarine was still anchored there, completing the final repairs caused by the mine detonations and the Amazon-engineered destruction of one of the airlocks. The sky was a rich-blue, the seagulls circled overhead -- it was a perfect day to be at sea, indeed.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for the mood inside the briefing room of the _Nautilus_.

The senior staff was gathered along a long, rectangular table, Nemo seated at the far end. Electra currently had the floor.

"I object to this proposal," she said in cool, determined voice. "This ship faces a daunting task ahead of us. We must concentrate our total efforts to this objective. To blithely take on new crewmembers at this time would greatly hinder our mission and put the crew in unwarranted danger. For the well-being of the _Nautilus, _I stand firmly opposed to the motion before us."

The floor was silent as Electra's stance sunk in. It was the Chief Engineer that was to break the silence.

"Yes. But we're short of personnel. In addition, the first officer's objections do not take into account that they have all served this ship well so far."

From across the table, the CMO nodded in response to this observation.

"I strongly agree. If they think of Gargoyle as their enemy, then their goals are the same as ours," the big German stated.

Nods and murmurs filled the briefing room at the doctor's comment. When all had settled down, the helmsman spoke his thoughts.

"There's one thing that bothers me. Now, what if they were to leave the ship at some point? They could take the secrets they've learned from the _Nautilus _and misuse them."

Another round of nods and murmurs filled the chamber; the ball was back on their side of the court.

"You don't need to worry about that," the engineer replied.

"Hmm?"

"Those people could never completely understand the breadth of our scientific knowledge.

"He's right. No crewmember fully comprehends the super-science that governs the _Nautilus_. They'll learn to use it, but they would never be able to duplicate it on their own," agreed the science officer.

The helmsman sighed again.

"It's not so much the children or the crew of the _Gratan _that I'm worried about. It's, well, the other two."

Everyone of course knew that he was referring to the supposed urban legend and royal princess-in-exile also currently aboard the _Nautilus_, stranded refugees from a parallel Earth until a rescue operation could be conducted.

"That is my main concern as well, even more so than the Grandis and her cronies," Electra stated. "Both of these unusual…passengers could be great threats. And we still do not know if they are what they claim to be."

Everyone just starred at her, causing her to shrug.

"Forgive me if I have trouble believing in the existence of a "Justice League."

"When you consider some of the things we've seen and which led to the creation of this ship, it's not that hard to swallow," replied the Chief Engineer wryly. Nemo nodded.

"From what they said, their League, their world already has access or contact with technology similar to that of ours and Gargoyle's. In addition, I have been observing both of them quite carefully."

Not exactly an easy task to do considering the other passenger currently on board that had sent him into a semi-emotional throes, Electra thought, but she said nothing. It was not her place to point it out, especially following the confrontation on the main deck two days earlier.

"And?"

Nemo was silent, finding his words.

"The Batman may be a costumed individual, but he also possesses a unique variety of talents, tools, and a sharp, prolific mind. His actions on the island fortress were a deliberate slap in Gargoyle's face and you saw the determination his exhibited when the _Gratan _was brought up. We could use a man like that on board."

Despite her love and respect for Nemo, even she had to question the wisdom of keeping a man on board who had broken out of his quarters and had attacked and interrogated the ship's CMO, then proceeded to burst onto the bridge in the midst of a highly delicate operation.

"But what of the Amazon? What if she is -- ?"

Nemo shook his head.

"I need to observe these…'Leaguers' before bestowing _that _level of trust upon them. But I'm certain now that she's not an Amazon of this world; the rescue of the _Gratan_ proved as much. Like her companion, her talents could be a great asset in out war against Gargoyle."

The talk continued for a few minutes more, with arguments thrown back and forth before the vote was taken.

VVV

"What?! Apprentice crewmembers?!"

Electra nodded slowly at the Grandis gang.

"Yes. From this day forward, the three of you will be working exclusively under my command.

The reaction of the three gang members was mized. Hanson was as excited as a blind dog in a meat market, Grandis was openly thanking God for answering he prayers, and Sanson looked resigned. But their reaction to the news meant that they weren't reading the slight hint of a facial expression on Electra's face regarding their reactions.

Well, they didn't, but the strangers from a far away land did.

After all, Batman was a detective, Diana a woman warrior. Both had observational skills that were similar yet different to the other's. Both of them saw the hint of displeasure on Electra's face, both had seen how the XO and Grandis acted around Captain Nemo, and both said nothing whatsoever.

"Ms. Electra?"

Everyone stopped to glance at Jean, who had stepped forward, gathering his courage and screwing it to the sticking place.

"I want to learn everything about this ship! The science you use hear is unbelievable. You are doing things that no one has ever sought to attempt before!"

Not in this timeframe anyway, Batman thought to himself. But Jean was right. Alternate reality or not, the technology aboard this ship made no sense given the era that they were in. The key lay with these Neo-Atlanteans, he was certain of that.

"I want to learn all about this ship and use that knowledge to better mankind," Jean finished. Electra smiled at him, a rather sad smile in the opinion of Diana. It reminded her of a similar gaze that Hippolyta had given her growing up when she had wanted to see Diana achieve her dreams, but had known it was impossible.

"I understand Jean," she said at last, "But I cannot allow you to wander freely around this vessel."

Jean looked as crushed as he had been when Nadia had blown up at him the other day and had thrown him out of her quarters.

"However, I will allow you to read all the books in my libraries as you wish."

Jean's mood had barely switched back to utter happiness when Nadia chose to follow in his footsteps and screw her own courage to the sticking place, as the Bard had written four -- no, three hundred years prior; this was why Batman hated time travel.

"Ms. Electra, what am I allowed to do on board?"

"Well, you will be entertained as the honored guest of Captain --"

Nadia shook her head, cutting off Electra.

"No, I want a job to do. I am accustomed to working for my food and shelter and I don't plan to stop that now."

Aggressive, taking charge -- Diana was liking Nadia more and more.

"I see," Electra said finally. "Well then, you can assist Ms. Grandis."

Again, Nadia had barely finished as Marie was about to venture forth where her teenage companions had gone before her. However, the little girl was beaten by the Amazonian warrior.

"You haven't spoken of myself and my companion yet."

Electra sighed.

"I was going to get to that eventually."

Sure you were, Batman thought with just a hint of sarcasm that he permitted himself to use from time to time. They had barely known each other for a handful of days and she already didn't like him. Well that was fine; he wasn't here to be liked. And to be quite frank, he didn't exactly like her either.

"Despite your positive contributions The Captain and the senior staff have been…unable to decide upon your role in the day-to-day activities of this ship. For the moment, you're confined to non-vital areas of the _Nautilus_ -- especially _you_," she said, glaring at the Dark Knight Detective.

"Thank you," Diana replied. Her behavior was slightly odd to Batman. He had half expected Diana, based on the two year working relationship that the Leaguers had had, to demand a release from their quarters onboard this all-purpose submarine. It was clear though, that the fall from the sky and the lifting of the _Gratan _had taken the much of the fight out of her.

"There's also one other thing."

"Oh?"

"You're going to need to do something about those…costumes."

VVV

They had repelled two interstellar invasions They had faced down both Injustice Gangs and the Secret Society. They were two of the seven - technically six given Shayera Hol's recent departure -- key components to the great assemblage of raw power in the history of the third planet of the Sol System.

But as Justice Leaguers, neither the Batman or Wonder Woman had ever faced a task as daunting as Grandis Granva's cooking -- especially the former given the fact that one of the world's most unrecognized culinary talents had been working for his family for three decades.

"Dinner is served!"

It wasn't that Grandis was a _bad _cook, oh no. It was simply that her method of preparation was, how shall we say, not bland or conservative. She was very liberal in her preparation of that night's _entree_, from the starfish salad to the bow-tied (literally) fish.

Hanson and Sanson had become used to it, having lived on the road with Grandis since her family had lost its fortune. If their finances permitted it, they usually ate out whenever possible. Nadia was trying to keep a straight face, but it wasn't easy for the vegetarian, especially since she had worked in the kitchen throughout the day -- and failing at it. Though she didn't know, her actions had been a parallel of why Alfred Pennyworth had banned Bruce from Wayne Manor's kitchen after the billionaire had failed miserably in trying to prepare a roast; needless to say, she stuck with the salad, minus the Starfish.

Princess Diana of course, knew this from having stayed at Wayne Manor following the destruction of the Watchtower and with it her quarters. The butler to the Bat couldn't resist divulging little tidbits and recollections of Bruce Wayne's childhood -- as it existed prior to that terrible night, mind you. The Batman tolerated it, but it annoyed him to no end. He couldn't help but sympathize with Tim in regards to J'onn J'onzz raiding the second Robin's Oreos cache.

Diana and Batman had joined them for dinner; the officer's mess was off-limits to them, though that wouldn't have stopped Batman from walking in had he chosen to. The fact was he wished not to display the full extent of his -- not to mention Diana's -- talents; the _Nautilus _crew had already seen enough and he wished to keep at least one or two aces in the hole should a quick departure prove necessary.

As per Electra's "request", the Justice Leaguers were no longer dressed in their uniforms. Each was clothed in one of the _Nautilus' _jumpsuits, a move that Nadia had joined in -- though hers had been too big and she had been forced to improvise, pretty much creating her circus outfit from the jumpsuit. Though Diana's tiara had been discarded -- albeit temporarily, her earrings and silver bracelets were still in place, just as was Nadia's Blue Water.

As for her Dark Knight companion, he too also wore the standard uniform, but with a few modifications. Though he had removed his cape, the mask was still very much a part of his appearance. In addition, his utility belt encircled his waist. Call him paranoid, but he felt more comfortable knowing that his tools of the trade, from the batarangs to d-cell jumplines were within arm's reach. The rest of his costume was soaking in a special mixture in the corner of his quarters that one of the crewmembers have given them.

Even he had to admit it was necessary that it be washed. Alfred would have blown a fuse if he had seen his costume in the state that it was. After all, the bat-suit was regularly shot at, burned, and slashed among other things. He didn't normally care; the money spent on the combination Kelvar/Nomex fabric - not just his costume, mind you, but those of his Gotham-based associates as well -- was inconsequential. It was occasions like this, however, where he couldn't help but envy the fact that Diana's patron gods had forged an nearly indestructible costume.

Diana was at home, having lived off of fish while growing up on the island of Thymiscera after all. She and Nadia were talking silently, the young girl expanding upon the conversation that they had had in sickbay about the Greek gods.

As for Batman, well the food was, eh, decent. Had he been here, Alfred would have thrown her out of the kitchen and proceeded to take over -- an act he would personally have seconded. To his left, Jean was peering over technical manuals and Batman couldn't help but glance over at the young French inventor's diagrams, courtesy of the _Nautilus_' XO.

He was trying to figure out what Echo the Sonar officer, who had given them a lecture on the abilities of the _Nautilus_, had not been telling them about the submarine's power source. Grandis was busy complimenting herself on her equities meal, noting aloud that it needed a little a pepper.

"Pepper is not what it's lacking," muttered Sanson. Grandis gave him a glare that slightly impressed Gotham's champion and the Amazon, both for two completely different reasons. In Batman's case, it was her intimidation skill, in Diana's, her ability to strike fear into men.

"If you have something to say, say it! I spend all day working and you spend all day loafing around and you expect to eat like --"

Grandis never saw it coming. Batman had, of course.; he was, as stated before, a trained observer and had seen King's stealthy, cat-like movements -- well, he was a lion cub, after all -- away from the fish bones that Grandis had given him and towards their chef's platter. Why he didn't act or warn her of the approaching predator was complicated and slightly personal in some regards.

Perhaps it was an attempt to save the damsel -- if Grandis could be called that -- from the excessive amount of pepper that she had dumped on the platter and hadn't noticed because she had been chewing out her partners-in-crime. Perhaps it was an attempt to not call further attention to his skills and to keep at least one ace in the hole. Whatever the reason, he was silent as King, in a leap that would have made any Olympic athlete proud, jumped onto the table, seized the fish _entrée_, and then bounded across the table and through the head-level air-chute.

There was a long silence, one that was quickly broken by Grandis' hysterics.

"Savage," she growled, her eyes and ears straining to hear the cub's movements through the ventilation shaft. She moved quickly and with purpose, thrust the upper half of her body through the chute.

"Gotcha you! Now I'm gonna -- "

She suddenly screamed out and fell back on everyone, her face clawed, King's cries receding into the distance through the shafts.

"Ms. Granva?"

"I'll kill that cat!!"

"He's a lion, actually," Hanson couldn't help but point out; it was in his nature, after all. Grandis ignored him and pulled herself up, looking directly into Diana's eyes.

"Get him!"

Wonder Woman gazed at Grandis incredulously.

"Excuse me?"

"Fly after it or crush him in the chute. You know, do what you did with the _Catherine_!" she said, gesticulating wildly with her arms. While Diana, Princess of Thymiscera, couldn't help to rival Batman in the department of terrifying glares, she gave a decent runner up.

"I'm not going to kill a poor defenseless animal or tear up this ship just because it scratched you. Your terrified him and frightened the poor thing."

Diana instantly earned points in Nadia's score book for her dedication to animal rights while losing them in Grandis' book. So, Grandis instead kicked open the door and grabbed a broom from a crewmember quietly swabbing the deck outside of their personal mess, a dangerous glint in her eye.

"It's hunting season!"

VVV

The chase across the _Nautilus _was long and filled with excitement and horror, equally rivaling both those that Batman had participated in while in Gotham City and the League's madcap attempt to apprehend Floyd Lawton AKA Deadshot after his attempted assassination of Aquaman.

Grandis had been single-minded in her pursuit of Nadia's lion cub, more or less alone in the thrill of the chase. Diana, Nadia, Sanson, and Hanson were all trying to restrain her, but the narrow corridors of the _Nautilus _made it difficult. Thid, coupled with Diana's lingering injuries, prevented the Amazon from flying ahead to intercept Grandis.

Throughout this, no one seemed to notice the disappearance of the Dark Knight Detective. And as for Jean? Well, you know how easily distracted a young person can become when during the chase, they spot a door that their brains are telling them not to enter, but they dod so anyway. This was especially the case with a man -- or technically, a boy -- of science like Jean, who noticed that the air within the chamber leading from the door was charged with electricity.

His curiosity piqued, Jean descended down the steps slowly and cautiously until he had last reached a large, red door.

"Now what's down there," he wondered aloud; it was tempting to compare him to Alice in this situation, especially considering the discovery he was about to make at the bottom of the rabbit-hole once he stepped through the door. Just as with his first glance upon Gotham City's champion, Jean was at a loss for words at the sight that greeted him.

He was in a large chamber with dim lighting. A strange apparatus was bolted in the center of the room, it's exterior pulsing with energy or so Jean could swear. Though there was no way that Jean could have known it, the machinery in several regards resembled the horizontal warp core of the refit _Starship Enterprise _circa 2270.

But nothing lasts forever as he was brought out of his trance by a gray, flying furball that landed in his arms. It took him a moment to realize that it was King.

"So this is where you went to," he said with a slight smile. It faded quickly as he surveyed the machinery in front of him once again.

"What could this be? It's definitely not a generator. It must be an engine."

"It is."

Jean nearly leapt out of his feet at the sound of the voice. For a second, he thought it was Batman - after all, sneaking up on people seemed to be his specialty and private delight -- but he quickly discovered that it was not.

It was instead Captain Nemo.

"This is the heart of the _Nautilus_, Jean. This is the particle-annihilation engine."

"Particle annihilation," the boy asked, uncertain as to what Nemo was speaking of; for a boy of science, not knowing what someone was talking about in your particular field of mechanical engineering was kind of distressing.

"Inside, hy-- "

He paused for a moment, holding up his hand for to silence Jean, his face turned towards the opposite side of the engine room.

"You might as well come out, you know."

Jena looked around, confused. Why was the Captain speaking towards --

Oh.

A dark shadow had separated itself from the corners of the engine room, the light revealing it to be a certain pointy-eared vigilante known for his operations and exploits in a major American urban center, his surrogate family of personally-trained protégées, and a rather dastardly collection of scum and villainy that starched around the city corner.

"Batman!"

The Detective paid the boy no heed, instead focusing on the master and commander of the _Nautilus_.

"How did you know?"

A small smile played across Nemo's face.

"I didn't."

Batman's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, joining them in starring at the article of machinery. He was all too used to bluffing; Dick had tried to get him to play poker on numerous occasions. He knew all of the tricks and rules, but primarily for criminal purposes, as evidenced by his dealings with the Royal Flush Gang.

As Nemo began speaking to Jean, Batman couldn't help but glance at the engine core before him. A Particle-annihilation engine, Nemo had said. Jean didn't understand it, but he did.

These people were using a fusion engine.

This was years beyond anything that nuclear physicists -- including those with WayneTech and Wayne Sciences -- had projected and built utilizing their own technology rather than the League's Kryptonian technology salvaged from Brainiac's various activities.

Fascinating.

VVV

"Out of my way," Grandis yelled, the bloodlust in her eyes still burning brightly like a lighthouse in a dark and stormy sea, a lighthouse that now attracted a good number of the crew as well as Electra, who was now barricading herself across the hatch that Jean had entered earlier.

"Absolutely not; entrance into the Engine Room is strictly prohibited!"

"Oh, please, I just want to run in, look for the monster, then run out!"

Electra didn't buy a word of it.

"I don't care why you want to go in there because you are not going to go in there," Electra retorted.

"Well, we'll see about --"

"King," Nadia cried out as King slipped through Electra's feet, the young circus acrobat kneeling on the floor and scooping the lion cub into her arms, and chiding him for running away. All too quickly, however, she was suddenly aware of Grandis starring down at her.

"Nadia," she said with forced sweetness, "hand over the Blue Wa -- I mean King, please."

Like Electra, Nadia didn't buy a word of it and she hugged King tightly. Grandis began to lose her patience.

"Give me that --"

"What's going on?!"

Grandis paled at the sound of the man of her dreams and the look that he gave her once he emerged from the Engine Room alongside the Dark Knight. She kept thinking about that look for the next few hours as she and her boys -- against their protests in particular since they hadn't started the hunt -- were reduced to swabbing the inner decks by Nemo's order

That didn't mean she was giving up on making him hers, though.

VVV

The _Nautilis_, while capable of remaining submerged for extended periods of time, still required surfacing for the charging of her batteries and air supply. The process would take twenty-four hours and so, all crewmembers and guests had enjoyed the ocean breeze and the chance to stretch one's legs.

One of the _Nautilus_' crewmembers, however, did not appear during the daylight hours.

Later that evening, Batman stood on deck, overlooking, the darkened ocean and the stars above and around the all-purpose submarine. The Batman had been reprimanded by Electra for his unauthorized intrusion into the Engine Room, but Nemo had let him off the hook. He, Diana, and Nemo had spoken briefly following the commotion outside the Engine Room and he said he would work towards selecting positions for them onboard the _Nautilus. _

Nemo…

His thoughts kept going back to the submarine's master and commander and what had occurred between the three of them in the _Nautilus' _engine room.Nemo had spoken to Jean about the dangerous science and how the science of this ship, of the _Nautilus_, made it as much a savior as it was a killer.

"Science is responsible for the crimes created by the Tree of Knowledge," he had said.

Batman could related to that statement. He knew all too well the dangers of technology being in the wrong hands. The Joker's rampage through Metropolis six years earlier was one of his primary examples of that.

He silenced the chatter of his thoughts for a moment, listening to Jean and Nadia speak on the opposite end of the _Nautilus_. Jean was voicing his thoughts aloud to the acrobat he had rescued in Paris a month before.

"Yes, I believe this is a good ship because the Captain is a good man," Jean was saying to Nadia.

Batman couldn't help but reflect on that statement. One of the benefits of his acquisition of WayneTech prototypes in his ongoing quest was that such devices could not fall into the hands of those on the streets or in the military that would use it to their own twisted ends. If reckless zealots like Generals Hardcastle or Eilling got their hands on some of the devices that scientists both in his employ and from off world, there was no telling what damage could be done.

"Do you agree with them?"

He was suddenly aware of Diana standing next to him. He frowned, mentally kicking himself for allowing himself to become absorbed in his thoughts without concentrating on the surrounding environment. Too many hours spent with the sanctity of the Cave, he decided. Diana saw

"You've been listening?"

"As have you."

She knew him too well and this trip through a parallel dimension was only going to make it worse. He blocked that thought and instead focused on an answer to Diana's question. It wasn't like her to debate philosophy with him; usually it was Superman that did it with him and than, prior to her departure, Shayera Hol with her.

"The technology is only as good as the people who use it. And from what I can see, the boy is right. This ship, its crew, its Captain are good people, " he said at last.

She nodded in agreement, remaining as silent as her companion. Like Jean and Nadia on the opposite side of the _Nautilus_, they simply starred out at the vastness of the ocean and the stars, wondering what role they had to play in the conflict that both groups had both stumbled into and were now a part of, for better and for worse.

VVV

_To be continued_

VVV

The attempted assassination of Aquaman occurred in "The Enemy Below".

One of my main complaints against "Wild Cards" was that the Royal Flush Gang was not the aristocratic crime family we had been introduced to on _Batman Beyond_. For the sake of this story, I'm going to assume that the Joker ripped off the crime family's motif for his Las Vegas stunt and not the other way around.


	11. Shore Leave, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the series-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story is set during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

As always, Enjoy!

VVV

Like Ebenezer Scrooge to the spectral form of Jacob Marley, Captain Nemo had been good to his word. Two days after they had spoken in the engine room, an unused storage room had been given over as an extended loan to Batman and Wonder Woman. Electra had been the one to deliver the message - with a hint of annoyance and resentment in her eyes and body language that Batman couldn't help but take some slight satisfaction from.

In his playbook, you either found a way to work alongside Gotham's champion or you got burned; it was as simple as that and a lesson that he had been forced to teach both his protégées and his allies in the League time and again (and would likely have to teach when - and if; even he had to admit that possibility - they returned to their Earth).

That lesson would also have to be repeated if he found out who it was that, upon his returning from his quarters to fetch what few possessions he had on him, had strung a sign that said "Welcome to the Batcave" above the door. Under normal circumstances, an glimpse under an electron microscope and DNA analysis of the paper would be order in order to determine the perpetrator.

But these were anything, but normal times. He and the Amazing Amazon were not in their own world and he had a limited supply of his trademark weapons and technology at his disposal. And with the tech of Neo-Atlantis that Lord Gargoyle had at his disposal, he needed all the advantages they could get, even with the _Nautilus_' own science and the Amazon princess in his corner.

That hadn't stopped him from compiling a list of possible suspects, though. And speaking of which, it appeared that at least two of the names. He has half-expected it to be Diana, but it was instead Jean and Hanson. Given their common ground in technological innovation, the two had become fast friends and when Jean was reading Electra's technical manuals or talking with Nadia, he could be found with working with Hanson in the _Nautilus_' docking bay on the _Gratan_.

"May we come in?"

Though he preferred his solitude in which to work - which had caused Clark on more than one occasion to joke that they should just switch their respective lairs - he conceded. He liked Jean, the young French boy reminding him again of a young Dick Grayson.

"What a night," the mechanic sighed, his hands reaching for handkerchief and rubbing the sweat from his face.

"I know," said Jean. "At least we're in here and not out there."

Batman's interest was piqued.

"And what exactly is going on out there?"

Hanson and Jean looked at each other, then back to the Dark Knight.

"Well, Sanson kinda blew up at Captain Nemo during dinner."

In addition to the storeroom, the Captain had also allowed the _Nautilus' _guests to dine with them in the main mess. Batman was the only one who hadn't accepted that offer, preferring instead to spend his time working in the storeroom. Diana usually brought him Grandis' evening meal, as evidenced by the . She spent her own time divided between him, Nadia, and her latest position as aerobics instructor in the _Nautilus' _gymnasium.

"Regarding what? Tactical disposition? Crew effectiveness?"

"Fish."

Batman just starred at them for a very long moment, causing Hanson to sigh.

"You have to understand that Sanson's the kind of guy who's fond a good steak at least once a month. If you exceed that limit of time, then it's like a pressure valve ready to blow. This fish diet hasn't exactly helped him along."

"And Nemo's reaction to his little outburst?"

"All Nemo did was get up, put on his cap, and walk out," Jean said.

Given how Grandis had all but stated to make Nemo hers, Batman had a pretty good idea of what had happened next.

"Leaving Sanson to face the wrath of your boss."

Hanson shrugged.

"Why else do you think Jean and I high-tailed it out of there?"

Before Batman could reply, a crash emanated from outside the 'Batcave'.

"Sounds like it finally spread out to here," Hanson moaned as the mechanic, boy inventor, and Dark Knight Detective slowly opened the hatch to the storeroom and looked out .

Sanson was sprawled on the floor, looking as if he had seen the hand of God and covered it what was left of the meal Grandis was a few feet back, trying to lunge at him, but being restrained by Diana, who while nearly back to full strength was having slight trouble given the enormous willpower that Grandis seemed to possess. If John Stewart had been here, then he probably would have gotten on the horn to the Guardians of Oa, telling them about a potential initiate to the Corps. Jean looked at Batman once again.

"Do you think we should go out there and help?"

"No."

VVV

The midnight shift aboard the _Nautilus_' bridge usually didn't start immediately at the precise time of midnight. Nemo preferred to have the bridge to himself for at least a few minutes. It gave him time to reflect on the day's events and his life's work, of everything that had been accomplished and everything he still had to do. Tonight, he starring out the protholes at the ocean depths, Electra beside him; she had tried to stop Grandis's second rampage in as many nights, but it had been Diana who had succeeded where she had failed.

"You're worried, aren't you?"

Electra thought he was speaking of the enormity of the task ahead of them, of their lone stand against the overwhelming forces of Neo-Atlantis and the secret war that they alone were fighting.

"No, the ship is functioning well."

"I was referring to our guests."

"Oh."

Electra was silent for a moment, trying to gather her words.

"They…they just need time to get used to life on board, sir."

He reflected on this for a long moment, reflecting on the events of the last two weeks and of tonight in particular before coming to a decision.

"If there's no sign of Gargoyle tomorrow, then we'll dock for a hunting expedition. I will go as well."

The XO nodded in agreement.

"Good idea, sir."

Electra started to turn for the exit, then she stopped for a moment, looking back at her commander, who in turn glanced over his shoulder back at the XO.

"Hmm? Anything else."

She sighed.

"No sir. Nothing more."

VVV

The _Nautilus_' sonar and electro-magnetic scans were unable to locate any trace or sign of Neo-Atlantean engine signatures, either from a _Garfish_-class submarine or a _Calcharodon_-class airship during the early hours of the morning. So, Captain Nemo's directive was obeyed. A course was charted nearest uninhabited island and by noon, the all-purpose submarine had entered one of the island's bays.

The bridge, like last night, was nearly deserted. However, the only occupants this time were Electra, the helmsman, and the chief engineer, all three of whom were required to oversee the _Nautilus' _docking procedure.

"Power down the engines. Prepare to drop anchor," Electra ordered from her station.

The helmsman nodded as he pulled one of the levers on his console down. The sound of grinding anchor-chains falling to the watery depths below filled the bridge.

"Anchors are down. The ship is secure."

"Very good."

She turned to speak into the ship-wide intercom.

"All crewmembers, prepare to disembark immediately."

"Wow!"

On the main deck, Jean, Nadia, and Marie leaned against the railing and watched as score after score of _Nautilus _crewmembers load onto the motor boats.

"They're

Nadia gave him a glare.

"But why? Wouldn't you rather just sit in a drk library with Ms. Electra and all her books all day?"

Nadia was angry at Jean not because he had run out when Grandis had gone into her second rampage last night, but rather he had been more absorbed in the manuals the _Nautilus' _XO had given him rather than compliment Nadia on the dress that Grandis had modified for the circus acrobat. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or so the man had said, though Jean had let to learn this lesson.

"Uh, I wasn't planning on it."

"That's a surprise to us, isn't it King?"

The lion cub, cradled in Nadia's arms, purred in agreement. So, Jean looked out over the crewmembers once again. He then noticed something he hadn't observed earlier.

"You know, I really had no idea that there were so many crewmembers living on board."

For once, Nadia agreed with the young French inventor.

"I know. We don't see anyone normally."

"They obviously all come from different countries."

"Yeah, it's a wonder that so many different people of different races can all live peacefully together," Nadia agreed, her own experiences in the Circus having showed her firsthand the dangers and stupidity of racism.

"So, you've discovered the secret of my utopia," came a voice from behind them. The three children turned to see the tall form of Captain Nemo leaning against the railing, looking out on the ocean and the men and women dedicated to his cause.

"Each individual has a different way of viewing the world and each other. Sometimes this leads to fear of anything that is different from themselves and fear usually turns to hatred. That is why my crew is different from the rest of humanity. We're all committed to a common purpose."

"Common purpose?"

"To defend the world from the Neo-Atlanteans."

"It truly is impressive," came another voice behind Nemo. They all turned to now see that the latest visitor on the top deck was Princess Diana, still clothed in a _Nautilus_ jumpsuit.

"Princess Diana."

"Thank you, Captain. Your crew is very much like the League on our Earth. We too are dedicated to the defense of humanity and the guarding of peace and justice. It's not an easy task."

That was an understatement, she thought. The League had been through two alien invasions, world disaster after world disaster, and a betrayal that had almost destroyed them. Yet, they were still intact, still fighting the good fight even without the _Javelin-A_ or the Watchtower.

"Captain!"

The group was distracted

"Sir, team two is reporting that they're having trouble moving some of the equipment onto the remaining boat."

"I can get it," Diana said. With little warning, the Amazon lifted off the deck and had flown towards the open cargo holds of the _Nautilus_. Within moments, two large crates of equipment and supply were flying through the air as the princess grasped them, and deposited them on the shore.

"Wow," Jean said, causing Nadia to glare at him as Diana hovered alongside the railing, looking at the three children."

"Will you permit me to take you ashore, then?"

VVV

Flying was not a concept that was foreign to Nadia. She had experience it twice in the last month, first when the _Gratan _had taken to the skies after the Grandis Grang had captured her in Paris a month before. The second time had been when they had fled the gang in Jean's prototype aircraft, the _Louis LaSeine VII _- prior to it having been shot down by trigger-happy Neo-Atlanteans

But whoever had said that the third time was the charm - if indeed the phrase had been coined in this timeframe yet - hadn't expected to be flown less than a kilometer through the air from the deck of an all-purpose submarine onto firm land by a five-foot eleven inch Amazon princess.

Needless to say, like Sanson, Nadia had been happy to touch down on dry land again.

She was now in a clearing some distance from the submarine, with Diana and Grandis as company. Diana's restraint of Grandis from the previous night was still fresh in her mind because she got the evil look from the ex-thief when she asked if she could talk and spend time with them

True, it could be considered that she was hanging with the 'girls'. On her Earth, she was currently the only female member of the League given the retirement of Shayera Hol following the failed Thanagarian invasion. And plus, she wanted to get to know Nadia better as she spoke with her, the girl changing into one of Grandis' smaller bathing suits. Like Batman was to crime, that woman seemed to be prepared for any fashion disaster or event.

"I still can't believe that they're aren't just a figment of mythology," Nadia was saying to the Amazon princess.

"My colleagues felt the same way when we first formed the League."

Grandis, changing into a bathing suit that was far too racy for the 1890's - at least in Diana's humble opinion, though she could be biased; her record on the rather skimpy nature of twenty-first century female swim wear was a matter of record on her Earth - was actually intersted

"So, you're essentially saying that that the Greek Gods do truly exist." she asked.

"Yes."

"Well, is there some way to invoke a blessing from, oh, what's here name, Venus?"

Gods, just like with the clothes, this woman was as obsessed about Captain Nemo as Batman was about avenging his long-dead parents. But Diana let the thought slide.

"Aphrodite. And the answer would be not without a sacrifice of some kind."

"Animal?" asked Grandis slowly, the wheels in her head turning. Nadia grew angry.

"Don't even think about it!"

"What? I wasn't thinking about sacrificing your pet lion cub."

"Yes you we-"

Nadia trailed off in mid-sentence, her gaze drawn upwards to the topmost ledge, causing Diana and Grandis to follow her gaze.

There was Sanson, who was apparently a masochist or enjoyed receiving pain from Grandis's hand since gazing at her in this manner and place would result in the most violent of retributions from his boss. But Nadia's attention was focused on an constantly-apologetic, trembling Jean, located to the side of the man. She could instantly tell that Jean hadn't meant to crawl up to the ledge.

"I…I…didn't…know…"

That didn't matter to Nadia, though.

Nadia, trembling herself, took one hand and covered her half-naked body. With the other, she grabbed a medium-sized rock from the ground. Grandis joined here with one of her shoes. But they failed to throw them as Diana beat them to the punch, the fallen tree that they been sitting on a moment before now flying through the air towards Jean and Sanson, like a billiard cue to its balls.

Both of them dodged the projectile, but went flying through the air away from the crevice like bowling pins struck by the ball. Grandis and Nadia were silent for a long moment, gazing at where their male counterparts had been a moment before and then back at Diana.

"Good shot," Grandis said at last, a look of sincere amazement and respect on her face for the Amazon Princess.

VVV

"Whatever it is, it can -"

Hunched over his desk, the Dark Knight cut himself off in mid-sentence - a rarity that Tim Drake, had he been there, would have given a month's worth of allowance to see - as he saw that it was neither Diana or Jean or even Electra that had knocked upon and entered his 'Batcave'.

It was instead Captain Nemo.

"Captain."

The master and commander of the _Nautilus _nodded at the Batman, then gazed at the workspace. Charts, schematic diagrams, metal fillings, and half-eaten meals dotted the four corners of the makeshift Batcave.

"I see you're making good use of the storeroom," he said wryly. He then looked seriously

"I'd have thought you'd be out and about a chance to enjoy dry land and sunshine."

"I have work to do.";

"Indeed."

He glanced over to the Batman's side at chemistry set, a strange brew boiling under the Bunsen burner and within the beakers.

"That's a foam adhesive designed for rapid immobilization of intruders or combatants. Because not all of the ingredients either exist or are carried on board the _Nautilus_, I'd have to primacies.

Nemo continue to stare at the brew.

"You said immobilize, not kill?"

"Yes. I fully believe in the use of non-lethal determents."

Nemo considered this for a moment.

"They'll be useless if you're fighting this war with us."

Gotham's champion starred at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Gargoyle would not hesitate to kill my crew in heartbeat. And I suspect the same would apply to you because of what happened back on the island."

"I face threats of death on a nightly basis in Gotham. Your Gargoyle is just the latest in a line that's forming around the corner."

"Gargoyle is not a foe to envy. He is a dangerous and cunning individual."

"So am I."

There was a tense moment as the Dark Knight and the _Nautilus_' captain as the two starred coldly at each other. Nemo was the one to break it.

"The boats will continue to run well into the night should you change your mind about the shore leave," he said as he closed the storeroom hatch, leaving the Batman once again to his work.

VVV

It wasn't until after sundown that Batman had finally decided that even he needed to get out of the 'Batcave' if but for a short time. Since Nemo had loaned him the storeroom, he emerged only at the wee hours of the morning and night, to perform his daily exercises. Even he had to admit, though, to set foot on solid ground again, a feeling that he experienced every time the _Javelin-A _had made runs back and forth from the Wachtower.

Or rather, it had been until he had heard not once, but twice a sound that had haunted him since that fateful night in Gotham City's notorious crime alley.

Gunshots.

His hands on the compartments of his utility belt, Batman ran into the night.

VVV

Over the crackling of the bonfire, Diana, Nadia, Marie, and Grandis had been exchanging stories as Sanson, Jean, Hansons, and a good chunk of the _Nautilus_ crew had ventured off for parts unknown. Diana had been hesitant to label it as a girl's night out, but it had been a good chance to propel those newfound positive feelings from the fleeing of Jean and Sanson earlier forward.

At least they had been until the two gunshots had gone off.

Grandis had instantly gone into defensive mode, her revolver brought up and cocked. Diana's arms were raised, the sleeves pulled back to reveal her bracelets ready to deflect any projectiles. D

The good news was that it was the hunting party, led by an anxious Sanson, which had returned and which had been successful in its expedition. They had found fresh fruits, herbs, and other natural resources with which would provide a respite from the daily diet of fish.

The bad news was that Sanson had gotten his wish and in his thirst for meat other than fish, had brought down a deer. Personally, she didn't know if Artemis would look fondly on this hunter or have him suffer the same fate as Actaeon. But, again, she had to respect the needs and hunger of her companions and was tempted to let it go. She didn't, however, because of the other reason as to why she considered this bad news.

Nadia was starring at the baby deer, her form shaking almost uncontrollably.

_Uh oh._

"How can you be so proud? It's just a baby! Doesn't the sight of it make you ashamed of yourselves?"

No one responded, hesitating at a proper response. But their silence in turn caused Nadia to finally lose it.

"I can't believe I ever trusted any of you!"

Without any warning, the young female acrobat took off away from the camp, King leaping from Marie's arms and join his master.

"Wait, Nadia," Jean yelled as he began to move forward after her.

"No," said a voice behind him, a hand gently touching his shoulder. He looked up to see it was Diana.

"Let her work this out by herself, Jean."

VVV

On the ground about half a kilometer from the campsite, Nadia was curled in fetal position, rocking back and forth slowly, crying softly..

"Nobody tries to understand what I say to them. None of them want to hear me."

From behind her, King cautiously approached. He purred softly beside Nadia, trying to comfort her.

"No, get away from me. Go away," she almost yelled as she pushed King almost violently away from her.

"I lived alone all my life and I can keep living alone. I was meant to be that way!"

Despondent, King began slowly walking back in the direction of the campsite for a few seconds, only to find himself pulled into Nadia's arms.

"I'm so sorry King. Please forgive me!"

The lion cub purred again and nuzzled his head against Nadia, trying to comfort her.

"I couldn't bear to be so lonely, Ki-"

Nadia was cut off as the Blue Water, still around her neck, suddenly began glowing and humming as it had done before, both during her earlier years and in the month since she had first met Jean atop the Effiel Tower in Paris. She gazed out at her surroundings, unsure of what had set off the jewel.

"There's something out there. Something I don't want to see."

VVV

Had Nadia and King not turned and slowly moved further down the beach, they may have caught the slightest hint of movement from the shadows of the trees. If King had not been so focused on comforting Nadia, he would probably would have smelled it, if not for the olfactory blockers that the Batman used on his person.

From the trees, had seen everything: Her self-loathing, the solitary with which she surrounded herself with, the driving off of those closest to her. And for a Dark Knight who had accepted a realistic rather than optimistic view on the evils of the world and its cultures so as to not be surprised, this outburst genuinely troubled him.

Perhaps Batman had been wrong about this girl. Perhaps they did indeed have more in common than either one of them possibly realized.

But something else troubled him in addition to this. Jean had said that the Blue Water responded to dangerous situations, acting as a precognition to trouble. If so, what had it been reacting to? Him? Or was there something or someone else on the island besides the _Nautilus' _crew?

VVV

_To be continued…_

VVV

Author's Notes

When I said secret war, I was not intending to make reference to the 1980's Marvel series. Just for clarification on my part.

Diana's height comes from the official DC site.

Artemis in this case is, of course, the Virgin Goddess of the Moon, twin sister of Apollo.

I say this because readers may have confused her with the comics Artemis, or rather the Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall, the so-called "Lost Tribe of Amazons."


	12. Shore Leave, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows_

Synopsis: A Justice League/Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water crossover; During a battle with Morgaine Le Fay, Batman and Wonder Woman are, through the witch's magic, thrown back through time and space to an alternate 1889, just as Jean and Nadia's adventures are beginning. What effect will the two Leaguers have in the fight against Gargoyle and the Neo-Atlantean movement?

Setting: In the Justice League timeline, this story is set shortly after the second season-finale, "_Starcrossed"_. In the Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water timeline, this story is set during/after episode 6, _"The Fortress on the Solitary Island_".

As always, Enjoy!

VVV

If there was at least one constant on both the League's Earth and the _Nautilus' _Earth, it was the existence of that delicacy that helped to lubricate the wheels of society morning after morning, day after day. It was the drink of both kings and the common man, that wonderful brown beverage known to man as coffee. And the _Nautilus _was very fortunate that it carried a supply of coffee beans for the crew for if it hadn't, then would have faced the further wrath of Dark Knight

Gotham's Champion was on this fine morning hunched over an operating console on the _Nautilus' _bridge, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and his other pulling and pushing the knobs and buttons that made up the console. This was…primitive compared to the Crays he was used to working on at the Cave. But he was a quick learner and had grown efficient with it during the bridge's night shift, where he had spent most of the night.

"Anything?"

The question was directed at the Asian science officer who shook his head wearily.

"For the hundredth time, nothing. If there was something out there, we would have detected it."

Perhaps, perhaps not. Call him paranoid, but his paranoia had saved his and his comrade's lives, both in space and in Gotham more than once, especially as his deduction of the true purpose of the underwater tunnel a week earlier had shown. In his viewpoint and experience, just because one was paranoid didn't mean that someone wasn't out to get you.

"Look, I'll recalibrate it again, but if the sensor array doesn't detect anything out of the ordinary, then "

He trailed off as the bridge doors swished opens. Batman didn't need to be a detective to know that it was likely one of three people standing behind him, none of whom he was truly in the mood to speak with.

"What is he doing here?"

Casablanca had been one of his father's favorite films and though he had all but abandoned the viewing of the motion-picture following their murders, he knew of the most famous lines, both from his father and from the Gotham criminal Burt Weston AKA Film Freak, one that applied to this situation.

"_Of all the people in all the crazy gin joints…"_

It was of course not Captain Nemo or Diana, but instead Electra, ironically the one who he had least wanted to see of the lot. His experience had also taught him that fate sometimes played cruel tricks. This was just the latest in an unfortunately long list that went back to his parent's shooting.

"There is a valid reason for my presence here."

"I'm all ears."

Alfred, Dick, Tim, or the Flash, had any of them been there, would have gleefully pointed out the pun and sarcasm involved, especially since he was still wearing his cape and cowl. It slid off Batman like water flowing forth from a watershed.

"I have reason to believe that there may be a Neo-Atlantean presence on or near this island."

VVV

"Nadia?"

Two kilometers from the main encampment of the _Nautilus _crewmembers, Nadia stirred slowly back to consciousness. She was aware of the sound of the crashing waves against the beach and the feeling of a thick frabic resting atop her form. She realized that it was a _Nautilus_-issue blanket. But who had…

Ah.

It was Jean, standing beside the rock that had created a natural enclosure where she and King had slept for the night. The sun was shining bright in the distant sky.

"Where's King?"

"He's playing with Marie."

"Oh."

She nodded

and then suddenly stopped as her brain completed booting up and the images of the previous night came back into full focus.

"Did you eat it?" she asked abruptly.

"Did I eat what?'

"Did you cook and eat that poor baby deer?"

Jean said nothing, his hands in his pockets as he tried not to look at Nadia, confirming the young acrobat's suspicion.

"Just go!"

Jean wasn't ready to throw the towel in, showing that one constant that didn't apply to either Earths was the French's knack for surrendering on the League's Earth.

"Why? Why are you so angry with everyone?"

Well that was a little redundant; he knew quite well what her anger was directed towards, but the analytical portions of his brain advised verification of this.

"Why? Why did you kill that poor defenseless creature?"

"We did it so we could have something to eat!"

"But did you have to eat it!"

God, it was like talking to a moebius strip, Jean thought. But again, the boy wasn't giving up.

VVV

Of the many things that the Batman excelled in, it was in the manipulation of emotions, or so Dick complained time and again both before and in the aftermath of his retirement as Robin. Dick was of course right and the Dark Knight knew that had struck a chord with Electra by saying the magic word.

"Indeed. And what makes you believe that there are Neo-Atlanteans in our vicinity? Some fancy little device in that belt you always seem to wear? Or is it perhaps from your comrade's deities?"

Batman wasn't in any mood to defend either his utility belt or the very real existence of the Greek Gods and once again ignored her sarcasm and hostility towards Gotham's champion.

"Call it a combination of intuition and possible precognition."

Electra once again didn't look convinced.

"If I was in the position of your Lord Gargoyle, I would have a _Garfish_-class submarine or aircraft shadowing your every movement, especially after what happened with the island."

Electra didn't respond. He'd struck twice now and was on a roll, ready to go for a hat-trick.

"This equipment is state of the art. There is no conceivable way to fake a sensor signature. If there were Neo-Atlantean ships trailing us, we would know."

"Are you absolutely certain of that?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Then perhaps you can tell me the sensor range of these enemy submarines so I can make verify that for myself."

"These sensor systems are far behind anything you could comprehend."

Batman cocked an eyebrow from beneath his mask.

"Indeed?"

"Yes."

"Try me."

He had pronounced a different pair of magic words this time and her reaction showed.

"Would you please get off the bridge before I have your forcibly ejected."

She really enjoyed strutting her stuff, he couldn't help but note. But he wasn't going to make an already bad situation worse and so, he slowly moved out of his seat. He was already planning the second stage of his own continued search when the science office's console began beeping.

"I've got something!"

VVV

Nadia and Jean had moved away from the ocean and back in the direction of the encampment, their argument continuing at full speed ahead.

"If I had to eat animals in order to survive, I choose not to live."

Jean blew air impatiently.

"I really don't see what the big deal is, Nadia."

"It's so savage!"

"Why do you think that? It's just good food."

"Animals are our companions, not food."

"But they become food once you cook them," he pointed out."

"Don't you even feel sorry for them when you see what you've done to them? Because the only reason they're dead is to serve your hunger."

The two were now virtually within the boundaries of the _Nautilus _camp. Everyone was up and about and going about their lives. By the makeshift galley, Grandis was cooking like mad, preparing the perfect island breakfast for her beloved Captain Nemo. Diana was conspicuously absent, but the two were so focused on their argument that they didn't even notice.

"Look, if there was someway to eat them without killing them, I would do it."

"Well then, there must be something terribly wrong with you if you can kill animals and not feel any "

"Hold on, I thought I heard something."

"Don't change the "

Nadia trailed off as she heard it too, a faint rustling from the bushes.. Both of them looked at the bushes to the side

and then jumped out of the way as a furry form shot through the brush. It was King and he looked like a bat, er, cat out of hell as he leapt into Nadia's arms.

"Whoa, calm down King, calm down."

Jean suddenly realized something.

"Wait, if King's here, where's Marie?"

They looked at each other and then back at King, still freaked out of his mind.

"King, what happened to her?"

VVV

The science officer starred grimly at the sensor readings displayed on his console. Batman, Electra, and Chief Engineer were all standing over his shoulder. Next to the console, one of the _Nautilius' _radio communicators transmitted to the encampment a kilometer distant.

"They're camped on the north side of the island and well camouflaged. We barely picked up the magnetic trace."

"_Are you absolutely certain it is them," came Nemo's disembodied voice from the speaker of the communicator._

"Yes I am, sir. The probability is absolute. We wouldn't have even detected them if not for the Batman."

Batman didn't need to look over in Electra's direction to guess what kind of look she was giving him.

"_Very well. Prepare the ship for immediate emergency departure."_

"Aye sir," replied Electra. Batman straightened himself.

"If you no longer need me, I'll assist in the evacuation."

"Fine, go."

As he headed out the doors, the Dark Knight immediately began jogging not towards the main deck, but down the entry hatch to his makeshift Batcave. As he did so, he placed two of his fingers on his right ear.

"Diana?"

"_I heard all of it. I can see them from my position. You were right."_

As he often was.

"Is there anything unusual about the ship and its crew from what you can see?" he asked as he reached the 'cave'.

"_No, they're just refueling as far as I can tell. Do you want me to engage?"_

He considered this for a moment as he threw on his cape and utility belt.

"No. We can't risk them alerting the rest of their fleet. Get back to the encampment and "

Batman stopped suddenly as static filled the comm channel.

"Diana? Diana!"

The static continued and then…

"_Something's come up, Diana out."_

VVV

"We are shipping out! Break camp and prepare for immediate departure," Captain Nemo ordered as the _Nautilus _crew immediately began tearing down what had for twenty-four hours become their island paradise. No one questioned his orders except for Jean and Nadia, who emerged back in the center of the camp.

"Well?"

"Nothing. There's no sign of her."

"Sanson seems to be missing too," reported Hanson, the mechanic jogging up to their position. "I mean, he just went out to get firewood for the breakfast fire and "

"Get a move on it," yelled Echo, "Or be left behind!"

"How rude," Nadia couldn't help but note aloud; this was to be expected by nineteenth-century mannerisms. Suddenly, King began squirming in Nadia's arms, his head bobbing up and down towards the ridge that overlooked the encampment

and both Sanson and Marie literally fell into their laps, their forms crashing into a pile of collapsed tents at a rate of 9.8 meters/second.

"What happened to you guys?"

They just pointed back up at the cliff.

"Move, now! Gargoyle!"

Everyone looked up where the two were pointing and yelling

and then ran like hell as a blood-red Neo-Atlantean automaton flew over the side, the Amazon Princess locked in battle with the mechanical apparatus. It appeared to resemble a squat, almost crab-like entity, childlike in its simplicity, yet its ferocity clear even to a bystander.

"I think I'm in love," Sanson muttered as he saw Diana threw a mean and quite frankly in his eye, a magnificent right hook and sent it flying straight into the ground in a spectacular explosion of metal, glass, and fire, causing everyone to dive for cover once again. From the crackling wreckage, an entry hatch popped open and a man clothed in the green army fatigues of the Neo-Atlantean armed forces fell out, a rifle in hand.

"A Neo-Atlantean!"

The soldier, though dazed, quickly took stock of his situation and made his decision as he raised his rife. Standing beside Captain Nemo, Nadia saw him raise his own pistol and suddenly realized what the Captain was going do and that Diana was making no move to stop him; she was in full Amazon warrior mode, now.

"Wait, don't! That man is injured. He "

It was too late as Nemo's pistol came up, firing

and the gun suddenly flew out of his hand less than a half a second after the discharge, a Batarang pinned to the metal casing.

Nadia didn't know what to be more shocked at. And it looked as if she wasn't the only one who believed that.

From the air, the Batman descended, landing gracefully next to the fallen Neo-Atlantean. He quickly felt for a pulse, found none, and then turned towards Nemo. There was a look of anger upon his face that Nadia had only seen from the owner of the Circus when she had been reluctant about performing.

And then to the shock of Nadia and Diana well not so much the latter given that she had a better idea of how Bruce reacted to these kinds of things and had therefore been in the process of moving to prevent it , Batman punched him, sending the Captain onto the ground. Instantly, all of the _Nautilus _crew members raised their own pistols with Electra being the first, he couldn't help but note.

_Figures._

Batman drew his cape around him, his hands upon his utility belt compartments and ready to unleash his gas pellets and grappling line all standard issue for costumed vigilantes operating within the city and county limits of Gotham, of course.

Within a moment, however, Diana was in front of her companion, bracelets raised ready to deflect any bullets though whether it was to save her companion or defuse this situation was not apparent, even to the Dark Knight.

"All of you, stop it!"

But the words had not come from the Amazon.

Nemo had come to his feet, rubbing his jaw. He and Batman starred at each other for a long moment, neither man making a move, each giving the other his poker face and quite a match of wills it was, too. Batman was the first to speak.

"This man had answers I wanted."

"That man would have killed you without hesitation."

"I could have disarmed him before he could even try."

"Possibly. But would you really want to put the lives of everyone here at risk for your own faith in your abilities?"

Batman's eyes narrowed. His methods, while they had their flaws, were also greater than those of many of his Earth's best athletes and detectives. The men continued to stare long and hard at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. Nemo finally turned away and looked at his first officer.

"We're getting out of here. All hands, prepare to disembark."

The _Nautilus _crewmembers kept a brief, wary gaze upon the Batman before getting back to work and completing the removal of the final pieces of equipment and supplies. Diana had turned her back towards her companion to assist and it was clear that there was going to be bad fallout between the two once they got back underway in the _Nautilus_.

But while Jean and Marie headed back for the boat, Nadia stayed for a long moment, her vision, despite the tears strolling down them, focused on the still form of the Batman as he starred at the wreckage and attempted to salvage what he could for later inspection. The Batman was still a man of violence, there was no denying that. But what he had just done, trying to prevent Nemo from killing one of the _Nautilus' _sworn enemy…

She had revised her viewpoints upon Princess Diana and now it seemed she would have to do so in regards to the princess' dark knight, too.

VVV

_To be Continued…_

VVV

Author's Notes:

Film Freak has never appeared in the animated continuity (or in the comics since his death at Bane's hands during the Knightfall storyline ten years ago). For the sake of this story, let us assume that the animated Dark Knight has had to contend with him.


	13. A Matter of Perception, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Author's Musings: I apologize for the delays in getting this chapter up, I really do. Real-life has been busy and the attempts to write this, _The Best of Both Worlds_, and initial work on the revised crossover have not helped. Thank you as always for your patience and as always, enjoy. As always, enjoy!

VVV

**Chapter XII -- A Matter of Perception, Part 1**

VVV

"…_and that Lord Gargoyle was the last time that they appeared in any of our scopes. We would have pursued, but we had not yet finished re-fueling and also felt it best to appraise you of the situation."_

"A wise move, Captain. Continue monitoring Grid 3H. Attempt to locate the target, but do not engage until ordered."

"_Understood my lord."_

As the radio signal terminated, Gargoyle reclined in his chair, his gloved hand stroking the ornate mask that adorned his face as he reflected on the discovery made by _Garfish 19-E_. So, the _Nautilus _had survived the underwater trap that he had laid at the LeMerr Straits. He should have suspected as much; Nemo had always possessed a stubborn refusal to submit to the law of averages.

But they always caught up sooner or later…

Within moments, Gargoyle had, from the carved obsidian shelves of that lined his quarters aboard the _Chalcardon_, selected the current maritime charts of Grid 3H, site of the secondary island refueling rendezvous and the last sighted location of the _Nautilus_. He gazed at the tables and notes entered into the side of the notebooks by his meticulous hands and studied them.

Life was always in one measure or another a chess match, a duel of the wits and fates, and one must be able to plot three moves ahead so as to avoid defeat. And he had in that moment located a possible strike three moves hence. With that thought in mind, he pressed the activation stub of his cabin's personal radio unit.

"_Yes, Lord Gargoyle?"_

"Contact Agent 2501. I must speak with him immediately."

"_It will be as you command, my lord."_

VVV

When Diana had left her island home so as to defend Earth against the forces of the Imperium, she hadn't truly thought about staying in Patriarch's world. But the culture and the heroes that she had fought alongside of convinced to her to better understand what the Amazons had been opposed to for millennia since Heracles had come to the island and humiliated their queen.

The public reaction to the Amazonian princess had been mixed. Commentators such as Gordon Godfrey had not hesitated to pull out conservative viewpoints and arguments against her, most particular in regards to her choice of uniform. She didn't expect them to understand that as Athena's selected champion, it was her duty to clothe herself in the armor of her patron goddess. It had taken time, but she had gotten used to the stares that accompanied her in public.

The reason this was all relevant was because, as she made her way down the cramped corridors of the _Nautilus, _she found the crewmembers all giving the look. But it was less a look in regards to her physical appearance than her _presence_. But, this was likely to be expected when one took into account that her pointy-eared associate had just docked the shio's captain two days earlier.

And unlike Bruce, she couldn't simply vanish away into the shadows and just ignore it so as to continue in his personal crusade. This is precisely why she was now opening the door to the storage space that their host had set aside for his use and which could now be revoked ay any moment.

"Bruce, we need to --"

She trailed off, disbelief etched across her face at what awaited her.

The table that had previously been littered with bat-gadgets, schematics diagrams, and half-eaten meals had been cleared away. In its place there lay a surgical sheet and beneath said sheet was the body of the Neo-Atlantean soldier that Nemo had shot, various incisions and marks made across the upper surface. In his hands, Bruce held vials full of samples and was placing them down as she walked further and further into the 'Batcave', shaking her dead in disbelief.

"Thank you Bruce, thank you. You've just made an already difficult situation even worse, you -- "

"Scalpel, please."

She blinked.

"What?"

"Hand me the scalpel."

Diana of course recovered quickly, the look of anger returning to her face.

"You know, there are time that I _really _I don't understand how you live the way you do, Bruce."

Batman continued his tests on the body, ignoring her. She paid this no heed and continued her dialogue.

"I also don't know, for instance, how you smuggled this body back on board without Elektra or the rest of the senior staff knowing or seeing. I also don't know why you can't make our interaction with this crew work. Don't you understand that we have to make this work lest both sides fall into disarray?"

"Are you suddenly a messenger of peace to Patriarch's World?

"Don't you dare mock me," she said in a low, threatening voice. "I wasn't the one that punched Captain Nemo."

Batman's white eyes narrowed, Diana's eyes widening as a thought came to her.

"By the gods…You don't think you did anything wrong yesterday, di you?"

"All I did wrong was get to that soldier after Nemo did. I attempted to question this man," he said, pointing to the body, "And the Captain shot him before I could do so."

"He attempted to kill the Captain and his staff," Diana countered. "Nemo was entirely justified in shooting him."

"Not when I'm around, not when I've trained myself to stop senseless killing."

"So then, the little waltz off the island fortress wasn't senseless killing?"

"I didn't kill those people; Gargoyle did."

"But if we follow your logic, you could have. That's what you do, isn't it?"

Batman's eyes narrowed more dangerously then Diana had ever seen them before.

"I do when I'm not stuck in an alternate universe and waiting for Clark to rally Kent Nelson or Jason Blood or half a dozen other mystics I could name to get up off their asses and get us the hell out of here," he hissed.

There was a long silence between both Leaguers, a silence broken by the sounding of klaxons and Electra's voice coming over the ship-wide comm.

"_All hands report to level two battle stations. I repeat, all hands report to level two battle stations. All noncombatants must report to block three shelters."_

They remained silent for a long moment even after Electra's communication had been completed.

"Don't think this means the conversation isn't finished, Bruce," she said as she began walking to the door --

and stopped as it swung open. For half a second, Batman was of the opinion that the battle alarm had been faked and this was a sting operation, but this was discounted when he saw that the visitor was Jean. He was flushed and there was a look of fear upon his face. Batman frowned at that; the boy had struck him as being not easily flustered, instead pursuing any objective with an incorrigible enthusiasm.

"Jean, what is it?"

"Marie's collapsed!"

VVV

The CMO tried not to look at the man who a week earlier had attempted to interrogate him within his own sickbay and instead focused on his diagnosis of the little girl. Diana, Nadia, Sanson, and Hanson all stood anxiously around the bed, Batman instead choosing to remain in the proximity of the door and its shadows.

"It's not good," he sighed. He suddenly felt someone gripping his arm and for a moment was afraid that he was about to have another close encounter with the Dark Knight. But instead, to his immense relief, he saw that is was Sanson. The ex-mercenary had become very protective of Marie after the Neo-Atlantean automaton had chased them back the previous day.

"Tell me what her condition is now!

The Doctor sighed again.

"It is a rare tropical fever known as --

"I don't care what the name of the disease is, Doctor. She will recover, right?"

When the Doctor didn't respond, the expression of worry on Sanson's face depend.

"Well, you can treat it, can't you? Can't you use your advanced miracle medidicne to make her well again!"

"As I said, it's rare. We don't carry the antidote."

"And you didn't think supply yourselves in case of an emergency situation?" Batman asked, speaking for the first time from the shadows; contingencies were his specialty, after all.

"Do you know how rare the ingredients for the antidote are and how we don't' have time to properly refuel or restock because we're always chasing the Neo-Atlanteans or fleeing from them?"

Batman didn't respond, or rather, he might have, but Sanson beat him to it.

"Then, there's nothing that can be done?" he asked softly. The CMO was silent for a moment as he stroked his chin.

"Well, there is one hope."

"What?"

"Captain Nemo may be able to help her."

Nadia and Jean exchanged looks that Batman, from his place in the shadows, observed and catalogued. He did so because it was the exact same looks that he and Diana had had when they had argued about Nemo earlier. So, the two teenagers had been having the same argument; made sense given that their ideologies were as different as night and day.

"He's an expert in marine biology and tropical disease. Perhaps he --"

His words were met by the sound of running feet, the swishing of the sickbay doors, and the departure of Nadia from the sickbay

"She could Flash a run for his money," Diana said, more to herself than to anyone else. She gazed down at the still form of Marie, the child breathing shallowly.

"What are the chances that Nemo will listen her?" Jean asked, attempting to weight their options for himself.

"I doubt he'll listen at all," Sanson said bitterly.

"Excuse me?" asked Nurse Icolina. "What did you just say about Captain Nemo?"

Sanson raised himself up from Marie's sickbed and starred at the nurse, his worried expression and tone now changing to one of anger.

"As I see, the man's more obsessed with stopping a bunch of cultists than saving lives."

Diana didn't turn around to face the doorway, but she knew Bruce well enough that there was likely wearing a hint of his ever so-smug 'I told you so' look that he enjoyed parading around the Watchtower and in the field so often.

"He's a compassionate man!"

"He's a murderer in my book if he's willing to pursue one little submarine just so he can play a little 'get revenge' at the expense of the life of a small child!"

Icolina was usually such the complete model of calmness and tranquility that no one anticipated that she would raise her hand and try to slap Sanson across the face in anger. However, she found

"Let it be, my daughter."

"But --"

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, Icolina; I thought I had taught you that. That is what makes us all unique, that we don't all subscribe to one single viewpoint. It's what separates us from the monolithic goals and views of Gargoyle and his followers and what --."

"_Medical team to the bridge."_

The intercomm interrupted the Doctor's philosophical musing in midsentence. He frowned and punched the reply button on the communicator.

"What's happened?"

"_Nadia's collapsed."_

VVV

"So it wasn't an accident?"

"No. According to the Doctor, she's contracted the same fever from Marie," Electra explained. Nemo's eyes narrowed.

"I've seen this fever type before. They'll only have forty-eight hours before -- "

"Sir," Echo interrupted, "We're within three thousand meters of the _Garfish_. We'll be in firing range in two minutes."

"Excellent," said Electra. "All stations await your command, sir."

But Nemo didn't hear Echo or Electra. He was thinking about what Nadia had said when she had come onto the bridge less than half an hour before, just before she had collapsed, the words echoing over and over again:

"_You would let her die so that you could destroy another submarine!" she had angrily charged._

Life was precious; he knew this to be all too well. He had seen life destroyed on a grand scale thirteen years earlier when the original Tower of Babel had exploded, destroying Old Tartessos and launching the horrors of the Neo-Atlantean movement. But there was a chance to preserve life here and now.

The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, he told himself. If Gargoyle was indeed aboard this _Garfish_-class submarineas they hoped, then it would be a crippling blow to the Neo-Atlantean organization, leaving only the Emperor to be dealt with. But if they did that at the cost lives, lives that represented not only innocence, but the next generation…

_The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…_

In a moment, he came to his decision, knew what had to done, and knew that his senior staff was _not _going to like it at all.

"Break off the pursuit and bring ups around one hundred and eighty degrees," he said suddenly. "Set a course for Reef 64."

The entire bridge crew was shocked at Nemo's sudden turnabout, none more so than Electra who looked like a child who had just learned that Santa Claus wasn't real.

"Sir, we can't do that. If we do this, we will lost the _Garfish_! We've sacrificed too much for this chance. We've dedicated everything to overthrowing Gargoyle and his followers! Are you going throw that all away just for two little -- ?"

Electra felt herself stepping back involuntarily at the dangerous look upon her captain's face as he turned looked at her.

"Do I need to repeat my orders, first officer?" he asked, very slowly and forcefully.

"No, Captain," she replied, a resigned tone to her voice.

"Good. Proceed to Reef 64 as ordered. First Officer, you have the bridge."

"Aye sir."

Electra was still gazing out the forward viewing port at the retreating form of the _Garfish_ long after Nemo's chair of command lowered itself back through the depths of the ship.

VVV

"It would appear you were proven wrong about the Captain," Hanson said to his associate several hours later.

He, Jean, and Sanson were standing vigil over the unconscious forms of both Nadia and Grandis. According to Echo, who had dropped by a few hours earlier, they were less than twelve hours away from the reef and the natural combatant to the tropical fever that had stricken their friends. Of those that had been present when the diagnosis had been made, only Batman were gone, the latter doing who knew what.

"Hmm, that remains to be seen," Sanson muttered.

"What does that mean?" Jean asked.

"Just because he changed his mind about helping Marie and Nadia doesn't mean that I can change my mind at the same speed."

"But, he shot a man to save his crewmen's lives," Jean protested, echoes of his earlier argument repeating themselves . "That -- "

"Means nothing. In war, even a coward can kill in a heartbeat. That's not a sign manhood, Jean; believe me, I know."

Sanson considered his next statement very carefully.

"Jean, you're not accustomed to seeing people die, are you?"

The French inventor shook his head.

"When I was growing up, I saw many people die during wartime and widespread epidemic. I even saw my parents die. Death is far from rare in the time's we live in and the ability to cause death is not a sign of greatness, Jean."

He paused, a faint smile coming to his face.

"But then, what do I know. I'm just a chauffeur turned mercenary. This is how I see the world. It's like what the Doctor was saying earlier. This crew has known Nemo longer than we have; they have a different perception of him. The same can be said of you and the Batman," he said to Diana, looking the Amazon princess right in the eye. "You've fought alongside him for, what was it, two years?"

"Three."

" -- for three years and as a warrior, you know and perceive him in ways that none of us do, ways that remain closed to us unless we become experienced and versed in them.."

Jean was silent for a long moment, the pistons of the French teenager's mind hard at work analyzing and processing the bit of philosophy that Sanson had just given him.

"…_ways that remain closed to us unless we become experienced and versed in them.."_

And suddenly, like the flow of plasma in the _Nautilus_'s particle-annihilation engine, an idea had formed in his head.

"Then let's change our perception of the Captain," he said suddenly.

"Pardon?"

"Let us volunteer to assist in this mission to Reef 64, to work directly alongside the Captain, so as to change our perception of him and vice-versa."

Everyone considered this for a long moment.

"I'm for it," Hanson replied.

"Ms. Diana?"

Diana was thing. She felt that it should be Bruce undertaking this manner of task, not her, . But, she had not hit Nemo; she was only guilty by association and ironically in this kind of situation, she could prove to be an effective yin to Batman's yang.

"Count me in."

"Sanson?"

Sanson, however, remained silent, his head sunk upon his brow in thought.

"Sanson?"

The mercenary didn't respond and for a split second, Jean was afraid that he had succumbed to the tropical fever as well. Then he looked up.

"If it means helping Marie and Nadia, then what are we waiting for?"

VVV

_To be continued…_

VVV

Author's Notes

Nothing serious (other than to see if nyone caught the in-joke related to comics Diana vs. Timm-verse Diana)


	14. A Matter of Perception, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows

As always, Enjoy!

VVV

**Chapter XIII -- A Matter of Perception, Part 2 **

VVV

"_They were at two-thousand meters to firing range when they suddenly just broke off and did a complete one-hundred-and-eighty degree reverse. Shortly after, they moved out of our tracking range, but their last heading put them on a north-eastern course, bearing 115 mark 330."_

"Hmm. Continue your attempt to locate the target, but do not engage.

"_Yes, my Lord."_

As the radio signal terminated, annoyance and confusion flickered in the mind of the Neo-Atlatean Lord s he analyzed what the Captain of _Garfish _17-M had relayed. As a chess player, he liked to prepare for any eventuality, to think three moves ahead, but there were some things that even he couldn't predict -- much as he hated to admit it. He certainly couldn't have predicted what his quarry had just done and for someone who had known Nemo for so long and knew how he thought, this made little sense. The 17-M was one of the older _Garfish_ models; the _Nautilus _could have destroyed it with ease.

So why had the Captain broken off a golden opportunity to destroy one of his submarines?

VVV

Captain Nemo regarded the four guests to the decompression chamber as he slipped on his diving suit, which while bulky was still far more advanced than anything developed thus far by navies around the globe.

"Are you certain you want to do this? The level of risk is great."

"Risk is our business, Captain," said Sanson, grinning. "Besides, we're ready to do anything we can short of inaction to help Nadia and Maria.

Nemo considered them for a long moment and then sighed.

"We don't have time to argue. Each of you may take on the diving suits over there. When you are ready, we will be on our way.

"Aye!"

VVV

Thirty minutes later, after having explained the basics of deep-sea diving and the operation of the diving suits and their communication systems, Nemo and company held on as Echo released the work-pod from the underbelly of the _Nautilus_ currently stationed above the trench designated by Nemo's charts are Reef 64.

In her diving suit, Diana held on as tight as she could without crushing the medal piping; it never ceased to amaze her how Clark, with all his strength, could handle such fragile objects so gently. She also could easily have withstood the pressures at this distance, but for Nadia's sake, she wasn't ready to take any kind of risk. The life of two children depended on the success of this mission.

As the diving pod dipped lower and lower to the depths of the Trench, even Diana found herself intrigued by the variety of creatures down here. Aquatic life forms once thought extinct, still alive and untouched by human interference. And as she listened to the boys trade remarks about this was a marine paleontologist's dream and how this was a Lost World, she began to realize something.

Their Earth had known these things for the last several decades and was still on-going. But these people were discovering it for the first time. They were boldly going where no one on their Earth had gone before -- present company and Neo-Atlanteans excluded, of course. It reminded her of the feeling she had received when she had left Thymiscera to fight the Imperium, the sense of discovery and wonder that Patriarch's world, for all its flaws, had to offer.

"_Ms Diana?'_

She was aware of Nemo's synthesized voice coming in over her helmet speaker.

"Yes, Captain?"

"_May I have a word with you on a secure channel?"_

"Fire away."

"_Thank you."_

He paused for a moment, no doubt adjusting his frequency, before continuing.

"_I can understand Jean, Sanson, and Hanson's presence on this mission. Your presence is…"_

"Odd?"

"_I was going to say appreciated. Reef 64 is relatively safe, but there is the occasional abnormality that could turn dangerous in an instant. I am also surprised given his talent for appearing out of nowhere that your companion has given us the drop yet."_

Almost by reflex, Diana looked up at the retreating form of the distant _Nautilus, _half-expecting Nemo's musings to become reality. But no, there was nothing. No terror that ascended from the skies to terrify them. She allowed herself a slight smile.

"He may be stubborn, but even he knows the limits, of what he can and can't handle. It's actually a part of his fighting code."

"_Does this code involving slugging the master and commander of a submarine?"_

Diana sighed.

"He's --"

The Amazon cut herself off as the diving sphere touched down.

"_We've arrived at the target," came Nemo's voice over the main channel as he pointed to a series of caverns nestled in the crevices of the trench. "Follow me and stay close."_

The team set off cautiously, moving into the caves that Nemo had designated. What was unusal about the cave was both the forest like seaweed that branched out and formed a crown-like ceiling and the glittering moss that lined the walls and became more prominent the further and further they proceeded through the cramped tunnel.

"_Is that it," asked a wide-eyed Jean as he starred down at the moss._

"_Yes, this is the medicinal herb we seek."_

"_Then they'll be well again!"_

"_Yes. Keep an eye on the passage, please."_

"_Yes sir!"_

"_Now, where were we," came Nemo's voice again in Diana's speaker as he knelt down and detached the equipment pouch from his belt. _

"I was about to either defend or damm my associate -- not the easiest of tasks, mind you."

"_I have no doubt of that."_

"I know what your crew thinks of him," she said. "There are times when I don't know what to think of him and his actions. Then I look back on everything he's accomplished, on all the…tragedies that forged him," she said, realizing that she was treading into what her pointy-eared teammate would call dangerous territory.

"_In a war such as this, tragedies are all too common. As I told him three days ago, how can he expect to fight alongside us against an enemy that will not hesitate to kill him in an instant?"_

Diana smiled.

"He fights that enemy every night on the streets of Gotham City. His principles are what make him the -- and you'll pardon the pun given his dark nature -- beacon of hope in a city of the valiant, the venal, and the insane."

She paused, considering her next -- and likely final phrasing -- carefully.

"Captain, I know he's a difficult individual and seemingly not trustworthy and were I in your position, I would be just as ready to throw him off the _Nautilus _as some of your crew seems ready to. All I ask is that you have faith in him and my perception of one the greatest warriors of this or any Earth.

Nemo didn't respond, instead focused

"_I…will consider it."_

"Thank you, Captain."

He nodded, then sealed the container and its herbal content.

"_This is enough," he said, switching back to the main channel. "Our mission has been a success, men. Let us return to the ship."_

"_Aye!"_

The five members of the underwater expedition turned back towards the opposite end of the tunnel --

when a monstrous shadow settled over the cave entrance. Everyone took one good look at the source of the shadow and suddenly, all thoughts of success left their mind and bodies.

"_Uh-oh."_

VVV

In many regards, Electra was the opposite of Captain Nemo and it wasn't just a matter of gender. She was a woman of action and disliked simply waiting around and doing nothing. This was precisely why she stood at attention, gazing out the portholes of the _Nautilus' _bridge at the fathoms below.

It was just her, their science officer, and the Chief Engineer, now, on the bridge. Echo was monitoring the work pod and their helmsman was off-duty, getting some badly needed rest. While the Asian science officer was monitoring the ship's sensor arrays, the engineer was only partially at work on the calibration of the engineering station. He was instead looking at Electra.

"I agree with what you're thinking, Commander," he said at last. "He has changed. He's not the Captain Nemo we've all come to know. I was surprised as anyone else when he ordered us to change course abandon pursuit of the _Garfish_.

He paused, then continued, knowing what he was about to say would likely not elicit a favorable response from the XO.

"Even so, I think he was correct in making his decision. If we were to let those children die just so we could achieve our chief objective, we would be not better than Gargoyle and the rest of the Neo-Atlanteans."

Electra didn't respond, signaling to the engineer that he could continue onwards.

"You know, I want to avenge my son and grandchild, but I won't let that happen at the expense of innocent children. I trust Captain Nemo with entire being, Electra. The only reason any of us are still alive is because he was there to rescue us.

Electra turned towards the engineer, perhaps preparing to rebuke ore refute him --

when the science console transformed into a cacophony of lights and sounds as the instruments came to life.

"Report."

The officer scanned his console and the readings it was giving him.

"Commander, I'm detecting an incoming object."

A strange mixture of trepidation and hope filled Elektra's face.

"Is it the _Garfish?_"

He shook his head.

"It has a similar mass, but it's moving too fast and it's coming directly from the trench itse--

The ship began rattling as water began to surge and swirl around the multi-purpose submarine. Everyone held onto railings and consoles as best as they could, as they had been trained to do.

"What in the hell is --?"

Electra's incomplete question was answered a moment later as a _massive _creature suddenly flew past the portholes and the forward bow of the _Nautilus_. At first glance, it may have appeared to be swimming, but it was quickly evident, despite its speed, that it was less swimming. In fact, it almost looked like it had been…_thrown._

The instant the waters stopped quaking, Electra was at her console, reestablishing the communications connection with Diving Sphere One as quickly as she could.

"_Diving Sphere One_, come in. Team One, come in. I repeat --"

"_We're fine, First Officer. Ms. Diana…threw back the catch of the day, that's all."_

VVV

"I still cannot believe that there are species of fish that large living at that depth," Jean was saying four hours later.

"Not just underwater," Diana replied, memories of the inter-dimensional creatures that Aquaman had fought during the attack on Atlantis several months earlier "You'd be amazed at what you'd find in all corners of the globe and the universe.

They had all just barely gotten out of decompression and were already clamoring over the state of the two girls. The CMO and Nurse Icolina had finished injecting the prepared vaccine into the still forms of Nadia and Marie hours before and they were already showing signs of recovery. Nadia was silent, but less due to her depleted strength and more to the knowledge that the man she had called a murderer had just saved her and Marie's life.

"What I still can't believe that you were able to send that fish flying so far," Hanson said. "I mean, I know you have super-strength, but wow."

"Well technically, the inertia, when combined with the force of the mass and the depth we were --"

"Hanson?"

"Yes, Sanson?"

"Stop being so scientific, will you man?"

Diana smiled as she exited the sickbay, the sounds of a laughter -- Nadia's among them, though weak and weary -- a wonderful narcotic to the deep, black abyss that they had risked their lives to penetrate.

_And speaking of black and dark…_

"I think I just earned us a few more points with the Captain. So you can thank me later or never," she said, finding her Dark Knight companion keeping vigil from the shadows of the _Nautilus_'s corridor that ran right outside Sickbay. He didn't respond.

_Typical._

She began to walk off when --

"By the way, nice right hook,"

She looked back at him, surprised, yet smiling.

"Thank you."

VVV

"I've returned the ship on its original course of SB-60, with a speed at 1/3 impulse power."

"Hmm. Carry on."

Electra nodded curtly and began walk to the edge of the bridge to conduct her rounds of the vessel.

"First officer?"

She turned back to face him.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm sorry that we broke off pursuit of the _Garfish_."

"Oh…it's…it's nothing, sir. I have steadfast faith in your decision, Captain; I hope you know that."

"I do."

"And I know we will find Gargoyle eventually. He can't hide from our desire for justice forever."

VVV

"_Lord Gargoyle, we are receiving a transmission from the Captain of Garfish 17-M."_

"Put him through."

"_One moment, my Lord."_

A few moments later, the communications system of Gargoyle's suite roared to life again as the transmission was relayed.

"Report, Captain."

"_We've located the _Nautilus. _It's on a course roughly analogous to that reported by _Garfish _19-E five days previous_."

"Good, good. Continue to track and stay out of their sensor range until further orders are issued."

"_It will be as you command, my Lord."_

As the signal to _Garfish 17-M _concluded, Gargoyle allowed a brief sense of relief. His quarry was now back on track; all that awaited was the reaffirmation of whether or not 2501 had --

"_Lord Gargoyle, we have another incoming transmission, this one from --"_

"Agent 2501?"

"_Yes my lord."_

"Then patch it through on the secure line."

"_It will be as you command my Lord."_

As before, there was static, then --

"_Are you receiving this transmission clearly, my Lord?"_

"Indeed. Report."

"_As per your instructions, I have made contact with the Admiral."_

"And?"

_"He is most anxious to avenge the men that we killed on the _Lincoln _two months ago."_

"His chance is fast approaching. Does he have the appropriate information?"

"_The charts and times are now in his possession. He has no idea of who I represent , though."_

"Good. See to it that he doesn't. Is the Admiral en route?

"_Yes, my Lord. He left port last night. As per your recent communiqué, will the alteration of his heading be necessary?"_

"No, the _Nautilus _has thankfully resumed its original course. Stay out of sight, but continue to monitor the situation from your position.

"_I, but live to serve Neo-Atlantis, my lord. Agent 2501 out."_

As the signal terminated, Gargoyle leaned back in his chair, a wicked smile forming beneath his mask as he congratulated himself on this latest achievement.

If all went according to plan, the _Nautilus _and its troublesome Captain would be eliminated from the playing field within the next seventy-two hours. And the delicious irony of it all was that Nemo's destruction would be carried out by the very creatures that he was trying to save…

VVV

_**To be continued…**_

VVV

Author's Notes

Should have pointed this out last time, so I'll do it now; Agent 2501's name is a tribute to the designation of the Puppet Master of fellow anime _Ghost in the Shell_.

The trans-dimensional incident took place in Season 2's "The Terror Beyond"


	15. Double or Nothing, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows _

As always, Enjoy!

**VVV**

**Chapter XIV –**** Double or Nothing, Part 1**

**VVV**

"Wow, it worked!

"I can't believe it either!"

"You know what means, don't you Jean?"

"Yep. We're geniuses!"

"Whatever," Sanson murmured.

With all the excitement of the last few weeks, Hanson had been unable to fully devote his attention towards the restoration of the _Gratan_. The damage from the minefield was still visible and so he sought to rectify that, while at the same time upgrading what he could with the _Nautilus' _advanced technology. Jean was involved of course, at Hanson's invitation.

As the technical boys got their hands dirty and congratulated themselves on their modifications to the _Gratan, _Sanson sat back and watched with a bored expression upon his face. No one wanted to view another of his shows of strength or marksmanship or fashion since he dared not go to help Senoirta Grandis in the kitchen, he just loafed around.

"Congratulations, Jean."

The voice came from the other side of the strange craft and belonged to Ensign Fait. One of the _Nautilus _engineers, Fait had assisted in the restoration of the _Gratan_. He had met Jean three days earlier when, as they had been attempting to begin the modifications, Jean had accidentally broken his glasses. On duty in the hanger at the time, Fait had offered to patch them up and had done so in no time.

As a result, Fait, had taken a liking to the young French boy and vice-versa. Like Jean, he had a passion for tomorrow and the good that science could bring to mankind.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Mr. Fait," Hanson stated proudly as Fair descended down the _Gratan_." The ensign laughed.

"Hey, I'm always glad to be of help."

"As are we," came another voice from the far end of the hanger. Everyone turned to see Diana and Nadia approach the work in progress.

While her companion remained controversial amongst the crew members, Diana had continued to impress the men of the _Nautilus_ with her mean-right hook to the Dinicthys – Nemo had afterwards stated there was no bout as to the creature's species – and so had finished with the morning's fitness regimen; the ancient Amazonian training exercises truly made things…interesting.

"Grandis sent us; lunch is ready."

"Hanson?"

"You guys go on; I'll catch up."

"I'll go," Sanson volunteered. "At least one of us has to show up so she doesn't go nuts again after what happened with the minefield."

"Mr. Fait, you're welcome to join us," Jean said. Fait just smiled.

"I've got to get back on duty. But I'll stop by later."

"I see your friendship with the Ensign is blossoming," Diana couldn't help but note – as well as the fact that Nadia's facial expression suddenly turned sour. Jean sighed audibly.

"Nadia, you're still not mad about the flowers, are you?"

Jean had been the first to tell Fait of the crush he had on Nadia and rather than ask Sanson – which given his success, or lack thereof in the field -- had asked Fait on how to win a girl's heart. Fait had suggested flowers and had used the _Nautilus_' facilities to cultivate artificial flowers.

Nadia, however, had reacted less than delighted.

"I told you before; technology has no place in my life if it re-creates life. It's artificial and fake."

"But it was a gift, an act of kindness. Can't you appreciate that?"

"No it's not, it's meant to distract me from the scientific atrocities that people like Nemo and Gargoyle use to their own ends."

"Here we go again. Look, Nadia, I-- "

Jean stopped suddenly as he blinked, wondering perhaps if he had hailed any fumes from the _Gratan_'s fuel supply.

But he hadn't.

Ahead of them, bent over and holding any matter of scientific instruments over one of the corridors, was the Dark Knight Detective.

"Beautiful day to be inspecting the paint job of the corridors, isn't it," Sanson offered.

"What are you looking at," Jean asked.

"I'm examining that," said Batman, pointing to a black square of obsidian mounted into the corridor of the engineering section of the mighty.

"A plaque?"

"A _dedication _plaque."

"Of the _Nautilus_'? May I read it?"

Before the Batman could protest, Jean had maneuvered himself into position and had proceeded to read off the stylized, gold letter emblazoned onto the plaque.

"The _Nautilus_, launched 21, 1888," Jean read aloud. "But I can't make out _that_."

Jean was pointing to a slab of silver metal that had been nailed in beneath the English lettering. Emblazoned on this slab were two rows of strange symbols that Jean did not recognize. Batman, however, was trying.

"It appears to be based on early Mediterranean symbols, predating the birth of Christ and the height of Roman power. If I had full access to my databanks, it would be a simple matter of -- "

"The _Eritium, _launched into the heavens sidereal calendar year 7962."

Everyone just starred at Nadia, particularly Batman who, for perhaps the first time since entering this reality, was at a loss for words. That or he was experiencing _déjà vu_ over his translation of Gargoyle's message two weeks earlier.

"You can understandthat? How," Jean asked, his eyes brimming with curiosity at this seeming untapped talent of the ex-circus performer. Nadia, on the other hand, was awash in confusion.

"I…I don' t know."

Batman's eyes narrowed. It seemed that the girl was telling the truth. But before he could question her further, Electra's voice boomed over the ship-wide communications.

"_General Quarters has been sounded. All personnel go to Level One Battle Stations. I repeat, all personnel go to Level One Battle Stations."_

"Time to kill people again," Nadia murmured; despite his role in securing the treatment for her tropical fever, Nadia was still unwilling to budge on the opinion of Nemo she had formed from his shooting of the Neo-Atlantean soldier. Jean decided to intercede once again.

"Nadia, why don't we go up to the bridge."

And before Nadia could protest, Jean had grabbed her hand, dragging her through the corridors.

"Kids," Diana said, shaking her head, yet smiling. Sanson shared that grin.

"I'd better get over to the kitchen, see if Senorita Grandis needs to be calmed."

As Sanson left, Diana then turned to face her companion as they followed the two kids through the labyrinth of corridors that lined the ship.

"You never can ignore even the tiniest of details, can you," she asked, making reference to the plaque

"I'm a Detective; in my field, attention to the tiniest of details _always _gets results."

"Hmm. Speaking of results, how did you-know-what go?"

Diana was still slightly reluctant to speak of the autopsy. Suffice it to say, he had somehow managed to dispose of the evidence before she had returned from the underwater mission. How he had done this she did not know, nor did she possess any desire_ to_ know.

"Not entirely productive," Batman sighed. "Without access to either Batcave or Watchtower equipment, the results are not exactly to my standards."

"But what did you find?"

"If this single soldier is a representation of your typical Neo-Atlantean, then all Neo-Atlanteans are as human as they come.

Diana considered this as they rounded one of the corridors.

"So, does this mean that this entire movement is similar in make-up and delusions to the Aryan movements or even Aresia?"

Aresia had been a rogue Amazon who had been consumed by the Amazonian homophobia and hatred for men. She had attempted to wipe out all men on the planet with a biological virus and had come frighteningly close to succeeding if not for the Justice League. The irony of Aresia's desire to destroy man had been that a man had saved her and sacrificed himself so that Areia could live.

"I honestly don't know Diana. And now with this girl's mysterious deciphering of those symbols, the mystery of this whole conflict and its origins is deepening even further."

**VVV**

The bridge of the _Nautilus _was quiet, the mood tensed and ready. Minutes before, the _Nautilus' _sensor package had picked up the faint electro-magnetic signature that matched the engine output of the _Garfish_-class. A closer investigation thus found that the reading was genuine and so, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the _Nautilus _prepared to do battle once again.

"Distance?"

"Four thousand meters. They're holding their position," Echo reported. From his chair of command, Nemo stroked his chin and considered this.

"Hmm. They're well within weapons range, are they not?"

"Yes sir."

"So why haven't they fired," responded Electra.

"Maybe they've decided to surrender," Echo wondered aloud, prompting everyone to look at him like he had lost his mind. Not once in this entire conflict had Gargoyle's forces ever surrendered to the _Nautilus _in battle.

"Despite past experiences, Echo may have a point," the Chief said. "The _Garfish_'s weapons have always proven ineffective in comparison to ours. And this is one of the older submarine models; we effectively outgun her."

Before anyone could debate this any further, the main bridge hatch swished, permitting Jean and Nadia entry into the nerve center of the mighty submarine.

"Hello!"

"Jean, Nadia, what are you doing here? General Quarters has been sounded," Electra said in an exasperated tone.

"But we just wanted to see the ship in action," Jean protested. Electrra sighed and looked on him as a mother did when she scolded her children.

"Jean, I've told you before that civilians are not allowed on the bridge during combat situations – especially you," she said with a look of extreme disapproval directed towards the Leaguers who had finally arrived on the bridge. The socking of Captain Nemo had not left her mind and would likely not anytime soon. Diana sighed; while she had won the support of the crew, her companion still had a long ways to go?

"Come on, we'll head back down. Batman?"

But the Dark Knight did not respond. His head was cocked to the side, an uncertain expression on his face, but one of growing anger upon Electra's face.

"Are you deaf? I called --"

"_Quiet_," he snapped, "Listen."

And then Diana, who lacked the sophisticated sound detection system Bruce had built into his cowl, but still had her warrior's skills, heard it too. Sounds of persistent banging on the hull filled the bridge, an ominous feeling spreading quickly into everyone present. It seemed to come from everywhere.

"Stay al-- ," Nemo stared to order, but he was too late. The ship suddenly rocked as though she had been struck by a torpedo. The lights and consoles began to flicker on and off, some refusing to return to their previous state.

"Report!"

The Chief Engineer strained to read the readouts from his half-disabled console as best he could.

"Some kind of field of magnetized devices. They're disrupting the engines' electro-magnetic field."

As if to validate the Chief's diagnoses, the constant thrumming of the _Nautilus_' turbines ceased. That ominous feeling of dread began to surface in everyone again.

"All engines have failed!""

"Power to the scanning systems is also down," reported Echo.

"Fire control sensors have been disabled," Electra finished.

Captain Nemo grimaced. Gargoyle had once again resorted towards the use of a minefield, one like its brothers at the Le Merr Straits had taken the _Nautilus_' fantastic abilities and rendered them all but useless in the present situation.

"The _Nautilus _has been crippled."

Suddenly, Nadia's Blue Water jewel began flashing. Having seen the jewel in action since first meeting Nadia in the City of Lights, Jean was well aware of its precognitive properties and had passed this information along to Batman, Diana, and the crew of the _Nautilus_. None of these outsiders could know that Nemo knew the truth behind the jewel all too well, but now was not the time.

"Report!"

Echo had already grabbed a pair of binoculars out of one of the bridge's forward storage compartments and peered through the nearest porthole.

"I count four torpedoes! Distance is four thousand meters and closing!"

"Deploy the baffles," Electra ordered.

"_System not responding_," came the voice of the munitions crew's team leader.

"Captain?"

Nemo glanced at Batman.

"What do you think," he said and quickly. If Batman was thrilled at being back in the game, he didn't show it.

"When their range is eight hundred meters, flood all ballast tanks and put us into a crash-dive," said the Dark Knight. The crew rushed to prepare the system as Echo began counting down.

"Twelve hundred meters…a thousand…eight hundred!"

"Flood them now!"

Though the engines had been disabled by the magnetized mines, the ballast tanks were still fully operational and immediately went to work. But would it be enough?

"They're right on top of us!"

The seconds ticked by, all attention on Echo and his viewfinder.

"Two passed over us, one directly below us. The fourth is heading straight on!"

No one dared breathed for the next few seconds, knowing that either Echo would report again for they would dead. Echo finally responded.

"It passed just shy of the conning tower, sir."

Everyone breathed a momentous sigh of relief. If that torpedoes had come just another meter or two closer…

But this would be only a temporary relief, Nemo knew. The hunted had now become the hunter and was in far better shape than its prey.

"Where is the _Garfish _now?"

Echo scanned the underwater battlefield as best as he could with the viewing lenses.

"I think it's at seven – correction, nine o'clock. _Garfish _approaching dead on from the port side. They're increasing their speed to maximum."

"They're going to ramm us Captain," the Engineer yelled.

"Commence evasive action!"

"Sir, the rudder is not responding," the helmsman reported. Cursing under his breath, Nemo switched the ship-wide intercom on.

"All port-side personnel evacuate to the starboard side and seal all bulkheads. All hands brace for impact!"

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, it was if lightning had been called down from the heavens to reap judgment upon the mighty vessel. The ship rocked violently, more than it ever had before as the _Garfish_'s dagger-like bow plunged into the port armor platings Jean expected the all-purpose submarine to break apart

But it didn't. If anything, the _Garfish _crumpled against the hull like a foot crushes a can of soda pop.

"We repulsed them?"

One final explosion rocked the submarine as the _Garfish_'s remaining armaments exploded, consuming the wreckage in a spectacular underwater pyrotechnics. As such, the bridge continue to shake for the next few moments as everyone held on for dear life.

"Damage report," Nemo ordered when all had calmed down and, save for frayed nerves and upset stomachs, everyone reported to be in good conditions.

The Chief accessed his panel, hitting it before it became fully operational again.

"Number 7 Ballast Tank has been hit, the depth indicator has been fried, the breaches have been contained, and all engine systems are inoperable. We'll need to surface in order to make external repairs, Captain."

"Do it."

"They couldn't be more ruthless," Echo noted aloud as the crew set to raising the mighty behemoth from the underwater battlefield..

"Only a madman like Gargoyle would condemn his followers on a suicide mission," replied the Chief, garnering a nod from Nadia and Diana. However, Batman was deep in thought.

Call him overly paranoid – which almost all who knew him did– but something didn't feel right here. As the island incident had shown, the Neo-Atlanteans were more than aware of the hull strength of the _Nautilus_; it had cut through the _Garfish _prototype like a knife through butter and the only thing that had sent it scurrying was an attempted blast from the Tower of Babel.

So why had the captain of this _Garfish _rammed the _Nautilus _if he knew that he could cripple, but not destroy it? Had it been an act of revenge, a final blaze of glory against his adversary? Or was something else afoot here, something that he wasn't seeing?

Perhaps he was, against all odds, being _too _paranoid; he almost had been when the Riddler had apparently gone straight, though proven correct in the end. In any case, the _Nautilus _was rising to the surface, broken but not…

…

…rising to the surface…

…

"Abort the surfacing sequence. Flood all ballast tanks and dive, quickly" he said abruptly and without any warning. Everyone on the bridge just looked at him.

"What? Why?"

Before Batman could repeat the order, Nadia's Blue Water began flashing again. Jean's eyes widened, disbelief spreading across his young features.

"I thought we were out of danger!"

And that was when the first shells hit the _Nautilus_.

****

**VVV**

****

**_To be Continued…_**

**VVV**

**Annotations and Author's Notes **

Once again, I'm sorry about the two month delay guys. As such, I hope this chapter has been worth the wait.

Aresia's first (and onlu) appearance was in JL's first season with the two-part "Fury".

Batman's paranoia over the Riddler's apparent reformation can be found in BTAS' "Riddler's Reform".


	16. Double or Nothing, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows _

Author's Notes: Nothing major, save an apology for the delays in getting the next chapter up. I suffered serious writing block on how to present the events of this chapter and you'll see why shortly. Other than that, as always, enjoy.

VVV

**Chapter XIV – Double or Nothing, Part 2**

VVV

Captain Martin Mellville had always loved the sea; it came from growing up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Despite land-based occupations, his parents had encouraged it and as soon as he was of age, he had enrolled in the Naval Academy. He had only barely graduated when President Lincoln had sounded the call to arms against the Confederate States. Assigned to the Union sloop _Oneida, _he had served his country with distinction during that conflict and had in the twenty-four years since.

But there was one incident of that tour of duty that haunted him. On April 4, 1862, the _Oneida _had been part of the blockade of Alabama's Mobile Bay. There, she had been humiliated as Captain John Maffitt of the raider _Florida _had fooled the Union ships and ran the blockade. Given the notoriety associated with that incident, Melville had worked hard to live it down and play to win, to never be humiliated like that again.

And for twenty-seven years, it had worked.

Then, he was given command of the newly commissioned cruiser _Abraham_, his goal to locate and destroy the so-called sea monsters that were destroying Atlantic shipping at an alarming rate. A seemingly simple task, it had ended in utter disaster, the monster ramming his hull and sinking the cruiser, sending half of the _Abraham_'s crew to the bottom of French waters.

This time, however, it wasn't just about the humiliation. He owed the boys on board the _Abraham_, to make sure that they did not die in vain. Thus, he had been somewhat reluctant when, while docked in port, his adjutant Commander Holland had brought in a masked man claiming to know the location of the monster. Melville had personally thought him to be a bit of a looney. Yet, for reasons that escaped him, he had heard him out and lo and behold, against all possibility, the man was right. The sea monster that had attacked the North Atlantic shipping and the _Abraham _was here now and even better was that the mighty beast was wounded.

"Initial salvo has reached its target," Holland reported to his side. Melville nodded, his face an avatar of grim satisfaction. They were onboard the _Yorktown_, one of the _Abraham_'s sister ships. From here they would conduct this operation, an operation that had brought out half of American's Atlantic fleet.

"Good. Order all ships to prepare their second volleys. Send it to hell!"

"With pleasure, sir."

VVV

"Report!" Captain Nemo ordered as one of the bridge's upper ports shattered, sending glass flying all over the bridge. Batman's raised cape shielded Nadia and Jean from the worst of it.

"American naval fleet off the starboard side! I count at least ten warships firing heavy salvos at us," Echo yelled back, still relying on his binoculars due to the _Garfish_'s damage to the sensor array.

"Leave it to the Americans to roll out a red carpet," Electra muttered. Batman ignored her, concentrating with his own binoculars upon the image of the American fleet.

"Is it too much to hope this is a coincidence?" Diana asked him.

"Yes."

Sighing, Diana replied, "That's what I was afraid of."

Before anyone else could say anything, another series of booms permeated the interior of the bridge.

"Captain, they've fired a secondary salvo. I estimate it will reach us in forty seconds," Echo reported.

"All quarters prepare the defense," ordered Nemo. "Commander, engage emergency porthole shutters."

With a nod and cool head, Electra inputted a sequence into her control console. Within ten seconds, all of the bridge's viewing portals, including the one hit earlier, were sealed off from the exterior of the hull..

"Sequence complete, Captain."

"Emergency dive!"

"Captain, the entire diving system is offline," cried the Chief. Cursing in a multitude of languages overtook the bridge, as did the sound of the approaching secondary salvo.

"Dammit. All hands brace for impact!"

It seemed like an eternity before the next salvo struck, the explosion resonating throughout the entire hull and throwing everyone who wasn't strapped down off balance.

"Are there any weapon systems still online?" the Dark Knight asked the Chief as he steadied himself.

"Negative."

"What about radio?" Diana inquired to Echo.

"Absolutely not," retorted Electra, seeing where the Amazing Amazon was going. "We will not reveal our existence to the outside world."

"You cause is no good if you're dead," she replied.

Before the two women could continue their argument, Echo's voice broke through.

"Third Salvo away. It will strike us in thirty seconds. They appear to be aimed directly at the bridge,"

"Captain, Engineering reports makeshift repairs to the diving system will be ready in forty seconds."

Batman's mind immediately began racing.

"Can this bridge survive that kind of bombardment for an additional ten seconds?"

"No."

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Then we go to Plan B. Diana?"

VVV

From the observation deck of the _Yorktown_, Melville's feelings of satisfaction began to darken as he saw his quarry begin its diving sequence.

"Holland, have every ship fire all their turrets now! Don't let it get away."

The final shells hit their target just as it began to vanish. As the smoke and fire cleared, the creature appeared to belly up for a moment and then plunge down into the waves like a dagger to the ground.

"Well done, eh Holland?"

When his adjutant didn't reply, Melville looked back and saw his trusted aide with a somewhat vacant expression on his face. The Captain frowned.

"Holland?"

"Uh, forgive me, sir. It's just…I could have sworn for a moment that I saw someone alongside the creature, almost as if they were pushing down."

Captain Melville just starred at him, causing him to flush slightly.

"It must be the heat, sir."

"Hmm. That wasn't as tough as we thought it might be. Have the fleet continue to patrol these waters and drop a few charges; I don't want to take any chances that the creature may have survived.

VVV

"Get that airlock open, now!"

The only operational starboard airlock hissed open, to reveal a soaking wet, flushed, and gasping, but was otherwise unharmed Amazon Princess.

"Next time I'm sticking to just pushing _Javelin_-class craft."

With a quick movement of his hands, Batman removed his cape and draped it around her dripping form. She smiled softly.

"How gentlemanly of you."

Batman didn't respond. But when one considered the dark creature of the night her fellow Justice Leaguer was, the one-liners were more suited and prone to come from either Flash or one of his squires.

"What's our next move?" she asked as they began moving through the corridors and past crewmen working frantically to patch leaks or remove hatches.

"Nemo purged the aft tank and oil reserves so as to make it appear as if we've gone to the bottom. Hopefully the deception is convincing enough"

"And if not, then what?"

Before Batman could response, a series of warning klaxons began blaring and suddenly, Nadia and Jean appeared, racing down the corridor with a look of determination and desperation upon their youthful faces.

"Where in the hell are they going?"

The answer was provided moments later when Electra, Sanson, Hanson, and Grandis emerged from the opposite end.

"Did Jean and Nadia come this way?" asked Hanson.

"Yes. Sanson, what's going on?

"There's a lethal gas leak in one of the auxiliary engine rooms, Ms. Diana. Three of the crew are trapped inside, include Jean's friend Fait!"

Batman and Wonder Woman took one look at each other and then began moving alongside the others, down the stretch of hallway that Jean had followed King down what seemed like a lifetime ago. They passed main engineering and emerged in what appeared to be a dead-end corridor.

At the end was a sealed bulkhead, its lights flashing a lockdown order and in front of it, Jean and Nadia. Jean appeared to be yelling into the air, but it was clear upon a closer look that he was speaking into one of the ship's intercoms.

"This ship is full of advanced technology. Can't you do _something_!"

"_The ship is full of advanced technology, yes Jean, but it can't work miracles," came the voice of the Chief. "If we surface, we can vent the gas. But we can't now. I'm sorry Jean."_

Jean suddenly became aware of the presence of his friends and the Leaguers. He turned around, a look of desperate pleading etched across his young face.

"Then what about _you_! Can't you save them with your powers, Ms. Diana!"

Despite her gifts from the Greek Gods, even she wasn't resistant to the effects of radiation or lethal gas. And neither could the Dark Knight.

"We can't do everything, Jean," Batman said quietly at last.

"Then use your mind or your gadgets! You've said that there's always another way. Have Diana sink the American ships so we can surface!"

Diana was silent, visibly hesitating and with good reason. It was Batman who provided the answer.

"Our presence here has already contaminated your timeline enough. There's no telling what the wide scale death of thousands of American sailors would bode for your world's future."

"I don't care about the future! I only care about Fait."

"_Listen to him, Jean."_

Fait's voice came loud and clear, though haggard over the intercom, silencing the boy. Batman had seen the effect of poison gas all-too well and whatever type the ensign was being exposed to, he didn't have long to live.

"Monsieur Fait!

"_The…Americans were deceived by Gargoyle. You…can't hold that against them . And Captain Nemo was right to seal off…the chamber. If…the Captain hadn't ordered the chamber sealed…the entire engineering compartment would have been flooded. If we surface…everyone on this ship dies. If the Americans capture this submarine, then they have the potential to become just like Gargoyle."_

"I don't care!

Nadia finally couldn't take it anymore as he turned around and exploded in front of everyone.

"You're all monsters! All of you! Justice League, _Nautilius, _Granva Gang -- it doesn't matter. You're just as bad as Gargo--"

That was all it took for Electra to lose it. She stepped forward, but Grandis beat her to it, slapping the girl across the cheek.

"You keep your mouth shut until you understand how much the Captain is suffering by sacrificing those men for all our sakes," she said in a low and dangerous voice.

"_Jean, she's right. It's a no-win scenario. Our lives are not as important as the lives of everyone else on this ship, including you. The needs…of the many outweigh the…the needs of the few. Never forget that, Jean. Take care my friend."_

The intercom clicked and went silent as the warning klaxon on the side indicated that the gas leak had now reached lethal levels.

"Monsieur Fait!"

Jean began pounding on the bulkhead, screaming out his friend's name and collapsed on his knees, sobbing as Nadia kneeled to comfort him and everyone else looked on at the bulkheat in solemnity.

Four hours later, the sensor array finally came back online. No sign of any ships either on the surface or bottom was apparent. Nemo ordered the vessel to ascend so as to begin external repairs to the mighty-all purpose submarine. Everyone was lending their talents and help towards the repairs, from the Justice Leaguers to the Granva gang.

That left Jean and Nadia alone on the rear observation deck. Jean held Fait's flowers in his hand, the same flowers that he had tried to give Nadia. She held that same flower in her hand. They simultaneously tossed their respective items into the sea.

"Good-bye, Monsieur Fait," he said quietly as the flowers began to float away amidst the crashing waves. None of them spoke for a long moment, each consumed in their thoughts. Finally, Nadia broke the silence.

"Jean, I…"

Jean held up his hand and Nadia paused for a moment, deciding for once to hear Jean out.

"There's nothing to say, Nadia. You were right and I was wrong. You were right about Nemo and you were right about Batman and Wonder Woman, too. They're not heroes to me. Not anymore."

He turned away from her and looked out over the setting sun and sea and the increasingly distant flowers that Fait had created. The two stood there until the night fell, gazing out together the distant sunset and the repair crews, now uncertain more than ever about tomorrow and what it would bring.

VVV

_To be continued…_

VVV

Author's Notations

Quite a depressing way to resume the story, eh? But I told you it was going to get darker before it got brighter.

For those not aware, Mellville and Holand appeared in the third episode of the series, rescuing Nadia and Jean from a crashed sea-plane. It was their mission to hunt the sea monsters (or rather the _Garfish)_ destroying Atlantic shipping that brought them into contact with Nemo and the crew of the _Nautilus_ (they also make an apperance of sorts in "Nadia"'s sister series, "Evangelion", as the Captain and Commander of the UN flagship in the eighth episode).

Mellville's first name and backstory were never given in the series.

The Confederate Raider _Florida _did indeed exist and was one of the most famous ships of the Confederate Navy after the _C.S.S. Alabama_. Scuttled by the Union in order to resolve an internation incident in 1864 (the Americans essentially attacked and captured the ship in a neutral Brazilian port, violating international laws), the wreck was finally found in 1982 by author Clive Cussler and NUM. Like I've said, I have a passion for maritime history and so it seemed fun to tie the Captain into already established historical events.


	17. Identity Crisis, Part 1

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows _

Author's Notes: For your musical enjoyment, I recommend that the _Nautilus's_ voyage into the Natal Sea Valley be read to "Descent into Mystery", by Danny Elfman and featured on the score to the 1989 "Batman".

Other than that, as always, enjoy.

**VVV**

**Chapter XIV – Identity Crisis, Part 1**

**VVV**

With the exception of the occasional passing ship and a creature breaking the surface, the ocean was almost always deserted, a blue, seemingly endless watery wasteland. But today was a different case. An ominous shadow hung over the peaceful waters, the product of a massive, man-made object that, to all appearances and engineering principles of 1889, shouldn't exist or be flying.

But it was.

The ominous, three-pronged craft was known as the _Kyuuchu Senkan_. Produced by secret Japanese-based shipyards, the _Senkan _was meant to act as the first in a new line of aerial battleships for the Neo-Atlantean empire. Armed with the latest innovations in both Terran and Neo-Atlantean engineering, the ship was the greatest display of the secret society's force, save for the destroyed Tower of Babel.

The central observation deck was located just aft of the main command center. Through the central viewing port, Lord Gargoyle stood at attention, his focus both on the rising sun -- in itself, an apt metaphor for the Empire, and on the entourage of Neo-Atlantean personnel behind the podium atop which he stood.

Not since the incident on the island had so many high-ranking Neo-Atlanteans been gathered in a single location. And given what had happened with the Tower of Babel, there were some who were secretly reluctant to be here, fearful for either their lives or the affect their loss would have on Neo Atlantis.

But they did not dare disobey Lord Gargoyle.

"I am ready. Begin."

The first adjutant, the quintessential Secretary of the Treasury, bowed and prepared his report.

"Sir, I shall begin with the economic distribution report. Due to our commercial disruption operation, we have gained control of eighty percent of the world's trade in wool and other key products. Armament exports are progressing smoothly. Anticipated profits will meet three percent of our budget. Our Neo-Atlantis operation ahs strengthened its foothold in the banking sector. We now control one and a half percent of the world's currencies.

"Hmm. General?"

"In the military sector, rigging has been completed on our second _Kyuuchu_-class aerial battleship -- ahead of schedule, I may add. In addition, our fleet will be expanded by the addition of seven new _Garfish_-class submarines. Expansion to be completed within the week."

"And what of the _Nautilus_?"

There was a long pause amongst the entourage before the General responded.

"_Garfish _17-M has arrived at the coordinates of the engagement with the American fleet as provided by your agent. They are attempting to search the vicinity for either sign of wreckage or the Blue Water."

"Essentially, there is no physical confirmation of the _Nautilus_'s destruction."

The General was becoming worried. While not a sadist, Gargoyle had not qualms in killing disloyal or uncooperative underlings.

"Not yet, my Lord. 17-M was only just beginning its survey when we adjourned. "The Recovery teams have yet to locate the _Nautilus_ or Nemo's Blue Water. I --:

"Say no more, General. We cannot draw any conclusions until the survey is complete, I understand, But I expect results nonetheless."

"Yes, sir."

The report continued, but Gargoyle only heard bits and pieces of it. Those in the know would likely chastise him, for while Emperor Neo was the true ruler of the Neo-Atlantean Empire, most of its day-to-day operations were carried out by Gargoyle. Thus, the health of the organization was dependent upon his attention to detail.

Yet, at the same time, the success of the organization also hinged largely on locating the Blue Waters, the jewels of the ancient Atlantean families and the keys to locating the fabled _Red Noah_. Thus, he would remain restrained and calm until the report came in on Nemo's final fate.

**VVV**

It seemed that nature itself was determined to finish the job that the American navy had begun. The mighty all-purpose submarine was tossed up and down through the raging waters of the storm that the had become caught in. Even with the injuries she had sustained, the _Nautilus _was usually more than capable of handling such foul weather. Unfortunately, the stabilizers were still on the fritz and the pitching and yawing of the submarine seemed only further to add to the somber mood of the crew.

Neither Jean or the Chief hadn't been seen in days. The latter was keeping a vigil over the bodies of the dead crewmembers, the former staying in his quarters. Not even the Leaguers had put in an appearance. The crew's opinion of the two heroes, already divided over Batman socking Nemo, had intensified. Some felt that they should have been able to save Fait with their powers, others that there was nothing they could have done and that they had helped save the submarine.

And Nadia?

Despite this foul weather, Nadia spent most of the time at the base of the dorsal hatch, the Blue Water clutched tightly in her hand and glowing softly. Despite her time in the circus and exposure to large groups of people , she valued her solitude and with the deaths, she needed time by herself to reflect upon her life and the Blue Water.

She didn't know if it was simply her already exhausted emotions or the mysterious powers of the jewel, but she kept seeing images Nemo in front of her, images that kept telling her that the Blue Water had to be kept out of the hands of people such as Gargoyle even at the cost of one's life.

Her life.

With determination in her eyes, the young circus girl tore open the hatch, exposing herself to the raging elements of the water and wind that bombarded the _Nautilus_.

How many people had died because she carried the Blue Water? How many lives on either side of this bloody conflict and in the middle had this jewel taken over the years? How many more people had to die before all of this ended?

Whatever the answer was, it no longer mattered to Nadia. She had made up her mind. She was going to rid all of them of this curse once and for all. And with a strong toss to the wind, it appeared that she would be successful.

But the power of the Blue Water was not so easily removed.

"No!" she cried, her feelings of elation and triumph vanishing as the jewel seemed to pause in mid-air above the outer railing. Without warning, it reversed course and floated before Nadia. The jewel was like a double bladed source, a thing of beauty that came with a curse and exacted a terrible price.

Yet, how was it possible of doing this? Nadia had never truly given thought to the sources of this remarkable jewel or why it was capable of doing what it did. She had always taken certain aspects of existence on faith, resulting in her clash with Jean and his world of science.

She needed answers.

**VVV**

"_As you know, our last battle costs us the lives of three members of the engineering crew. Their remains will be put to rest in their homeland. We shall now proceed to the Sunken Cathedral in the Natal Sea Valley to perform their final journey._

Jean hadn't barely slept on the last few days. But it wasn't due to Nemo's latest announcement over the intercom. No matter how he laid down or shifted the pillows, he could not excise the events of the past week out of his mind or his feelings of guilt over his role in this entire affair.

Yes, had Jean and company had not come along when they had, then the _Nautilus _would have been destroyed by Gargoyle at either the Tower of Babel or beneath the LeMerr Straits. They had proven their worth in the fight against the dreaded Neo-Atlanteans.

And yet, he hadn't even been able to help save three crewmembers.

His reflections were interrupted by a knock on the doors to his quarters. If it were Batman or Wonder Woman…well, truth be told, as a man of science he didn't know _what_ he would do to two super-heroes.

"Come in."

The aperture swished open, revealing the solemn form of --

"Nadia?"

"Jean, I need your help."

**VVV**

Five minutes after her initial request had been made, Jean had his micro-scope and other equipment set up, his energies focused on trying to perform some good by helping his friend to understand the awesome power she wielded.

"Well?"

Jean was silent for a moment, his hands focusing the dials of his microscope and the magnified image of Nadia's jewel beneath it.

"Hmm."

"What is it?"

"When I increase the magnification on the microscope, the designs are still there. And they almost appear to be three-dimensional."

"What does that mean?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I have no idea what these designs represent or what purpose they serve, though they're clearly not ceremonial. Let me try something else."

From his satchel, Jean removed an apparent nondescript piece of armor plating.

"What's that?"

"A portion of the _Nautilus_' hull. There's no metal thicker than this. So, let me try this…"

Jean brought the pointed end of the jewel down atop the piece of armor plating and pulled downwards for several moments. When he pulled it up, both he and Nadia gasped. The Blue Water had left a deep gash through the armor, cutting through it like a heated knife through butter.

"How can a piece of crystal due that?" Jean murmured. He sighed, removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes before looking back at Nadia.

"I'm sorry Nadia, but this is beyond my abilities of comprehension. Maybe if we went to Ba---"

Jean broke off, feelings of anger and resentment cutting through his sense of excitement and scientific curiosity.

"Jean, I-I'm sor --"

"Nadia it's alright. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

Nadia nodded silently, seeing that despite the brave face he was putting on, his feelings of hurt and despair were bubbling beneath the surface. Someone like Jean, despite his occasional haughtiness and arrogance, did not deserve to have such emotional injuries thrown at him. And had Nadia been more alert, she would have seen a faint flash of black, nomex/kelvar weave trail around the corner of the still-open door.

**VVV**

Wonder Woman sighed, running her hands through her hair as Batman sat opposite to her, calmly sipping a cup of coffee. The makeshift 'Batcave' was in a disorganized condition, a result of the offline stabilizers -- though again, how he had managed to discard the body of the Neo-Atlantean soldier still remainder a mystery. Like Jean, Diana had also barely slept the last few nights.

"I keep thinking what would have happened if anyone else had been here, Bruce. J'onn could have phased through the bulkheads and shut down the leak without any harm. Lantern could have pulled them out with his ring, yet prevented the leaking of the reactor; the incident with Orm's doomsday weapon two years ago proves that."

Batman didn't respond, at least not immediately.

"Maybe, Diana, maybe not. Either way, I think this ship needs to seriously reconsider the wisdom of putting such young children in danger."

Wonder Woman just gave him an incredulous look.

"And what about your squires? Is that any different?"

"No, because they were familiar with it first hand. Tim grew up in the slums, Dick traveled the country and such areas up close, especially after his parents' deaths when he tried to track down their murderer. And as the daughter and employee of the police commissioner, Barbara experienced it just as much as the other two."

"So what do you want to do? Put both of them in capes and masks and make them fly off of rooftops?"

Batman glared at her.

"That's not funny."

"It wasn't meant to be." She sighed and paused for a long moment before continuing. "How do you do it, Bruce ?

"Do what?"

"Deal with your charges when they're in emotional pain? Do you comfort them as best as you can? Or do you just sneak up on them like you did earlier and keep them at arm's length?"

"I'm surprised to hear you posing such a question."

"I'm not good around children, Bruce."

"Neither am I."

"Humor me."

Batman was silent for a long moment.

"I do what I can Diana," he said at last. "Alfred does too, in fact even more. But overcoming the pain is something that while I can help guide them, is entirely their own path, Diana."

Diana sat back in her chair, sighing.

"By the Gods, I hope you're right."

**VVV**

In the cold, still solitude of his quarters atop the observation pod, Nemo stood at attention, the ornate box that he kept safe in his hands. His gazed was focused outwards to the distance. At these depths, there was almost no light, save for the forward beams of the _Nautilus_. Yet, Nemo knew this area like the back of his hand. How could he not?

This was where it had all begun, where events had been sent in motion that had culminated thousands of miles away in Old Tartessos and had led to their presence here in this undersea valley that humanity was decades away from exploring on their own. But for a craft such as the _Nautilus, _reaching this depth, this location, was no such problem.

If the _Nautilus _continued on her present course, then they would strike not only the hard, rocky walls of this valley, but also something that by all accounts should not be possible: a statue of an ancient, almost mythological creature carved directly into the face of the rock.

But Nemo knew that the solution to such a fate lay in the ornate box he now carried in his hands. As he had been taught by his forbearers, he opened the container and placed his hand atop his Blue Water. He knew that decks below, Nadia's Blue Water would also react to this place. He wondered if she truly realized the connection between them and if so, why he could not bring himself to reveal it to her, at least not yet. He began to speak aloud one such command to which the Blue Water would respond

_Wanderer, do you seek adventure beyond the treacherous waterfalls?  
Do you seek the mythical being that dwells in this unreachable place?  
If you do, then you must first find me... _

For a long moment out in thee black depths of the sea, nothing happened. Then, in a the distance, a speck of blue light flashed through the viewing port of the _Nautilus _from what would pass for the eye of the creature. The valley began to shake as the rib cage of the statue slowly parted, revealing an entryway built into this ancient statue.

Without wasting a moment's breath, or so to speak, the _Nautilus _pushed forward through the now open aperture, the rib cage reverting back along ancient, rusted tracks as soon as the submarine. The tunnel that the vessel now journeyed down was clearly, like the statue, not the result of natural formation. It was clearly manmade, but in ruins, the ages having taken their toll on this ancient labyrinth. Various articles of rubble and flotsam littered the floorway.

The temptation to join his crew on the main flight deck was tempting, but he knew that they were more than capable of handling this dive; they had alas been forced to perform it more than once. And he was needed here.

The _Nautilus _continued along for two kilometers before finally stopping above a large, seemingly bottomless crevice set in the middle of the tunnel. With a furious effort, the sub's dorsal turbines were activated and propelled the ship down the crevice, faster and faster towards a well of bright purifying light --

-- which revealed itself to be an ornate chamber adorned in ancient hieroglyphics and symbols that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a symbol and one of the still remaining, undiluted examples of the culture that was responsible for so much of human history.

"All crewmen prepare to disembark. We have arrived in Atlantis."

**VVV**

_**To be Continued…**_

**VVV**

Author's Notes

The chapter title is not, I repeat, NOT related in anyway to the controversial 2004 mini-series by Brad Metzler and Rags Morales.

The _Kyuuchu Senkan _was never named on screen and was only referred to as Gargoyle's aerial ship. The designation comes from one of the Nadia fansites.

The incident with Orm and the Doomsday Weapon occurred in Season 1's "The Enemey Below".

Unlike the comics Tim Drake, who like Bruce comes from a wealthy background, his animated counterpart's background was based off of that of the second Robin, Jason Todd.


	18. Identity Crisis, Part 2

Disclaimer: Batman created by Bob Kane, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston. All three are owned by DC Comics. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water created by Hayo Miyazaki, based upon characters created by Jules Verne, and owned by Gainax. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

_Justice League/ Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water: Yesterdays and Tomorrows _

Author's Notes: I apologize for the delays. Christ, I feel like I'm writing "SUPERMAN/BATMAN" with the delays in the chapters. (Essentially, f Kanji, Finals, and holidays -- not to mention writer's block). But, that's not why we're here, is it? Other than that, as always, enjoy.

**VVV**

**Chapter XVII - Identity Crisis, Part II**

**VVV**

Given how it was one of the major centers of magic on their Earth, Diana had been well aware of Atlantis long before she had made the decision to leave Thymescria. Even so, she had been more than a little impressed when the incident involving the American nuclear sub _Defiant _and the attempted coup of Orm. She had observed that should Aquaman's treacherous brother had succeeded, it was likely the survivors of the Gaea's cradle could have forged their remaining forces and firepower to destroy such a remarkable locale.

It was these images conjured by her imagination and memory which Diana was now experiencing again as the Captain completed the funeral service and the crew had gathered for the wake to honor Fait and his fallen comrades. Despite her respect to the dead, she had spent most of said wake off to the side, deep in thought. Bruce had snuck off, investigating. Even he was not willing to further question Nemo. And while Diana was not the detective that the Dark Knight was, she was intelligent enough to recognized several key facts in the sequence of events.

In their timeline, Atlantis' attraction to the inter-dimensional entities, the Old Ones, such as Icthultu, had resulted in the forging of Triton's Trident during the city's last-ditch defense. However, though the magiks involved had sunk the city and transformed the port into the underwater civilization that they knew.

But this Atlantis was different.

The architecture, though blasted to practically nothing, still possessed a semblance of its former luster to show Diana that this did not resemble the Atlantis she had visited twice. In fact, the only similarity between the two cities was that both had been victim to massive channeling of energy. And while Diana had not recognized the monolithic structure at the ruin's epicenter, Batman's foray on Gargoyle's island had allowed him to identify it as a "Tower of Babel".

Something cataclysmic had happened here.

Alright, so Atlantis had developed into a grand, ancient civilization, but how? The technology to construct marvels like the Tower of Babel was far beyond any pre-Egyptian culture. So, how had they come into it? Did they possess a benefactor, similar to the role that the future Vandal Savage had played in his manipulation of the Second World War? Or was their another incident?

At some point in the past, prior to their arrival, the city had suffered a great cataclysm and had become abandoned. Thus, what remained of the ancient Atlanteans? Were their descendents truly the architects of Gargoyle's Neo-Atlantean movement or again, was there more here than met the eye? As a warrior, Diana was suited to analyzing a battlefield and her enemy. But these many cultural and historical intrigues and incongruities -- this was far more Bruce's field of expertise.

"We need to talk to them. Now."

_Speak of the devil._

To Diana's side lay the form of her fellow Justice Leaguer. The Dark Knight had not approached the funeral service, his form clinging to the few shadows offered by the ruined expanse of Atlantis. Given his family history, it came as no surprise why he would be uncomfortable in such settings. It still never ceased to amaze Diana just how he was able of sneaking up on anyone in the League.

"Speak to who?"

"Nadia and the Jean."

Diana took on an incredulous expression. Bruce was choosing _now _of all times to confront emotional issues like _this_? But one look at this face was showed her that this was the look of someone speaking in utmost sincerity. Something had happened. He had learned something.

But what?

**VVV**

Nadia had never liked funerals, primarily for her because it was an occasion of death. She did not see it as a celebration of one's life and accomplishments, but a celebration of death. Blame it on the circus owner putting a venerable elephant down in front of her eyes so many years ago. The Circus, while it had provided her with a home, but it had provided so much of the pain present in her life.

But regardless, she had felt a need to view his service, if nothing else than to comfort Jean. She had not known the engineer well, but Jean had. And just as he had been aboard the _Nautilus_, Jean had been despondent, his unusual flair for enthusiasm dimmed. But this time it had been even more so and it had all begun after Echo had a few words with him by the crosses and life vests marking those _Nautilus _crewmembers who had fallen in the conflict.

And so half an hour earlier, she had exchanged another set of harsh words with both Nemo and Electra on his culpability in the deaths of the crewmembers before roaming the ruins, searching for Jean. She had to find him and…and…

And what? Yes, that was the question, wasn't it? What were they going to do? When she had exchanged barbs with the command staff earlier, Electra had told her that do to the level of danger that the _Nautilus _was now entering, the Captain and senior staff had decided to give the children and the guests the option of abandoning ship, so to speak, and being sworn to secrecy about all they had seen.

Granids, Sanson, and Hanson had already agreed to stick it out, though Nadia suspected it was more to her former's infatuation with the Captain. She didn't know about the Leaguers and honestly, she didn't care. Ultimately, though, the choice to leave the _Nautilus _was theirs and theirs alone.

Yes, leave the _Nautilus_. And go where? What was she doing here in this, this place, this Atlantis? What home did she have? The traveling circus had been her only home for her entire life and not much of one at that. All she knew was that she had been picked up as an infant and eventually made her way into the Circus. And the Nautilus was a technological hellhole, home to sociopaths and super human thugs.

It was in this maelstrom of thoughts that she soon came what appeared to be a platform overlooking the outer edges of the ruins. Sea water from the outside appeared to run down in a roaring waterfall and amazingly, in this deserted wastelands, flowers were growing along the edges. But then, so was misery. Nadia found Jean overlooking the expanse as well. She walked up alongside him, but he gave no indication that he was aware of her presence.

"Jean?"

"Go away," he whispered, not even looking at her.

"Jean, I -- "

"**Go away Nadia!" **Jean screamed, his face red with anger, his checks lined with glistening tears. Before Nadia could stop herself, her hand lanced out, slapping the young French boy across the cheek just as Grandis had to her a few days previous. But like Grandis', the blow acted as a blam to Jean's explosion of emotion. He took several deep breaths before sitting himself down on the rocks overlooking the watefall.

"Jean, what did Echo tell you?"

It took a Jean a long, long moment to respond.

"Echo was formerly of a French merchant vessel a year ago before the Neo-Atlanteans sunk it. The _Nautilus _saved him. He was the only survivor. His ship was the _Guerriere_

and his bunkmate was Pierre Coq Raltique.

Nadia felt her blood chill at the last name.

_Coq Raltique._

"Jean…your father?"

He nodded solemnly. Nadia felt her blood chill again. So, the lives of Fait and the crew and innocence of a child was not enough, was it? The Atlanteans had stolen one of the most important things to any child: his parent. Now, she and he were both more linked than she could have foreseen.

They were both orphans.

"Jean," she said at last. "What you going to do?"

Jean threw his hands into the air in frustration.

"I don't know what to do, Nadia. I don't. I want to kill them, I want to --"

"I would suggest not killing them."

The two adolescents spun around to find both Justice Leaguers standing besides the crumbling wall behind them.

"Do you have butt in where you're not wanted?" Nadia responded, reclaiming the title of the most emotional of the two.

"Yes," Batman retorted deadpan. Diana rolled her eyes. For all of his abilities and talents, Bruce took things perhaps just a tad too literally and seriously. Flash had more than once classified the point ears of his mask as being proof enough that the Dark Knight was part Vulcan.

"What do you want now," Jean replied with wariness.

"Because I have more in common than you realize."

"Really?" Nadia asked, unconvinced.

"Because I lost my parents to violence as well."

Then Batman did something that caused everyone's mouth to drop, something that the Dark Knight had only done in private since coming aboard the _Nautilus_.

He removed his mask.

For what seemed an eternity, no one spoke.

"What is about to be said will stay between us. No on else on the _Nautilus _is to know of this. Understood?' Batman said at last.

Both of them nodded, slowly and yet with Purpose. Batman appeared satisfied and he sat down .

"Good. My… real name is Bruce. My parents died when I was just a few years older than Marie. They were shot in an alleyway coming home from the theater one night. I watched the whole thing happen right in front of me, Jean."

Jean was silent, his attention utterly focused on the Batman's narrative. Diana was surprised at how he told his tale. The death of his parents was not easily discussed either conversationally or in private, but here it somehow just seemed…easier. She briefly wondered if Dick Grayson had received a similar telling of the tale.

"After they died, I made a vow to fight injustice and crime, to prevent what had happened to my parents from happening to anyone else. I spent the remainder of my childhood traveling the globe, learning the skills I would need to make this plan work before returning to Gotham City. I've been fighting this war for almost three decades.

"I understand your desire to see revenge of Fait's death as well as the death as your father. But believe me when I say that vengeance blackens the soul, Jean," Bruce said, quoting the very words Alfred had used to sooth him over Andrea Beaumont's descent into the dark mantle of the Phantasm.

"But, the anger, the rage--"

" Are all natural, Jean. But there are ways to channel the anger without giving into it. I can help you, though.

"Through what?" Nadia responded vehemently. "More violence, more lack of action for those in need!"

"Do you think any of us enjoy using violence?" Diana responded. "Violence is the language of tyrants and thugs, yet we are both well versed in it, Bruce because of his mission and myself because of my heritage as an Amazon.

"But you have powers! Why couldn't you save Fait or the others," asked Nadia sternly.

"Do you think we're all perfect beings of light? We know we can't accomplish it, but we try. We've both been agonizing over what could and couldn't have been done to save Fait. We can only learn from these choices and use them to better ourselves. Like me."

"What are you talking about?" There was once again suspicion in Nadia's eyes and voice.

"Because of my choices, I can't go home, Nadia."

The boy inventor looked quizzically at the Leaguers

"You mean because you're with us here on this alternate Earth with us?"

"No, that's not it. It's…complicated," Diana stated. It was now her turn to relate a tale of

"Three years ago," she began, "our Earth came under attack from interstellar invaders. It was that invasion that led to the formation of the Justice League -- and also my present circumstances. My home is protected by my gods, I she couldn't sit around idly while the world was in peril. Against my mother's wishes, I donned the armor forged for the royal family and helped repel the invaders."

Wonder Woman paused for a moment, letting this sink in before continuing.

"I put off going home for eight months. In the end, though, I knew I had to face responsibility for disobeying my mother's wishes and so returned." But it was more complicated a reunion than I had anticipated. A world-be sorcerer named Felix Faust had taken it upon himself to free the imprisoned Greek god of the underworld, Hades in return of ultimate knowledge. He attacked the island, utilizing the power of the Gorgon to turn her sisters to stone.

When I returned, Faust blackmailed me into recovering the keys to unlocking Hades' prison by myself. I refused the League's help, but they aided her nonetheless. And working together, we were successful. We stopped Faust, re-sealed Hades within his prison, and reversed the effects of the spell."

She paused once again. The memories of what had occurred next still haunted and angered not only herself, but some in the League, particularly Flash.

"But it came at a price. Men aren't allowed on Thymiscera. It's our greatest law. If you're going to blame it on someone, blame it on Hades's…actions millennia previous. And even though I saved the lives of my sisters, I had broken that law. Her mother had no choice but to exile me.

"I could have left the planet, but I didn't. I chose to stay with the League. I chose to build a life both with and outside of the League. With the exception of select few, there is no one else I trust more or would rather fight alongside of."

"Not even Super-man?"

A hint of smile crossed Diana's features.

"He's good. But he's also good, even better in many ways."

The brief moment of subtle humor quickly passed, however.

"Our point is that the choice is yours, Jean and Nadia. I won't influence it in any way and neither will Batman. You have to forge the path that you will take in life, be in times of tranquility or times of tragedy."

**VVV**

"I still can't believe you did that," Diana said later as the _Nautilus _crew drifted away from the wake and towards the final service. Batman's mask was once again in place and the two had left the children to discuss things on their own. After all, as they had said, the decision was all their own.

"Neither can I," Batman replied.

"How long did it take you to tell your first…partner?"

"Not long. Same with his replacement."

Batman produced a slight grimace at the memory, of Tim Drake wandering through the Batcave after he had been rescued from Two-Face's wrath and accidentally made his way into the Wayne study.

"Either way, I'm…not going with stories or emotions.

She smiled. "Understatement of the year. Seriously, why did you do that?"

"They're good kids. I'm not going to stand back and watch such hopefuls beacons of inspiration be extinguished by a bunch of mask-wearing fascist.

"Now you're starting to sound like that archer in Star City."

"Not if I say that if the kids talk about what they saw, I'll make them disappear."

"You're joking, right?"

Before the Diana could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps filled their ears. Both Leaguers turned to find Nadia and Jean approaching them, the two supporting each other. The emotional drainage both had suffered through was still present, but there was just a hint that something positive was at the center of their mood. In both of their hands, they held the flowers that had been growing along the platform. After placing both on Fait's coffin, both walked slowly towards the Leaguers.

"I thought you should hear first. I…I'm staying on board. I'm going to see this through," Jean said, a touch of his enthusiasm in his voice. "I…thank you for your talk, earlier. I know Fait couldn't have been saved at the cost of the entire ship. I'm sorry for the things I said. But the pain…I know it can be overcome, but I can't think of anyone I'd rather ask for that help than you."

"Thanks. Nadia?" Diana asked.

"I too am staying…but…"

The young circus performer hesitated, then looked up into the orbless slits of the Dark Knight's mask.

"You're a detective, aren't you?"

"He's the best there is," Diana said. Nadia hesitated again, then continued.

"This…I don't know what this is. I don't know where I cam from, I don't know why I have this or what it even is. I need answers to the secret of the Blue Water."

Batman starred down at the jewel, then back at Nadia.

"We'll solve it together, then."

He really did mean that. Nadia, Gargoyle, the _Nautilus, _Atlantis, the Blue Water; it was all connected, this much he was all but sure of. And for all their sakes, the Dark Knight hoped that they would soon learn the answers before it was too late…

**VVV**

_**To be Continued…**_

**VVV**

Author's Notations

Ah, finally, a sense of resolution to the children's conflict with the Leaguers. And not too soon, as we prepare to enter the Nautilus' darkest hour with the three-part "The Road to Ruin".

The encounter with Icthultu occurred in "The Terror Beyond".

Vandal Savage's temporal manipulation can be seen both in "The Savage Time" and "Hereafter".

The name of Jean's father was never given on-screen, nor was the name of his ship. However, the ship name, the _Guerriere_ was actually a converted French sailing frigate that was stricken at sea in 1888, a year before the setting of the series and around the same His time that Jean's father went missing (another little historical tie-in on my part).

The incidents leading up to Diana's exile can be found in "Paradise Lost"

Andrea Beaumont and the Phantasm first appeared in the film "Mask of the Phantasm".

The animated Tim Drake's foray into the Wayne den was seen in TNBA's "Sins of the Father".

The archer in Star City is, of course, Green Arrow. Remember, at the time of this story, the JLU hadn't' been formed and thus Green Arrow wasn't a member. His left-wing reputation, however, likely proceeds him.


End file.
